Ministry mulls one-day weekly gas 'holiday'

The Petroleum Ministry briefed the EMC that outstanding Price Differential Claim is only amounted to Rs 40 billion, which had gone beyond Rs 150 billion. The government was still providing Rs 100 million daily subsidy on petroleum products, it added. The subsidy on diesel is Rs 6.60 per liter. However, the government did not disclose how much it was earning on account of taxes on petroleum products, which, according to some estimates, is much higher than the subsidy.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock briefed the EMC that it expected a bumper production of 6.2 million tones of basmati rice during the next season that would adequately meet domestic consumption requirements.

The Ministry will thereafter fix the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) of rice after approval from the ECC.

The Ministry of Industries told the EMC that 3rd shipment of 24000 tones fertilizer has arrived in Karachi and the available stock position was satisfactory. The stocks have been released from Karachi to the distribution points throughout the country, which come to a total of 45831 metric tones available on all approved sales outlets.