PAR News - Mon, 19 Sept 2022

TOPLINE

• A 70-foot breach occurred in Degi Minor Canal near Basti Qaiser Chohan, some 28km from Rahim Yar Khan.
• Rs 6.39 billion was the export value of fruits in August 2022, up 0.29% compared to August 2021.
• Pakistan can import oil and wheat from Russia on deferred payment as both countries are in talks after the recent meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO.
• Pakistan received an advance confirmation from Saudi Arabia on Sunday to roll over its existing $3 billion deposit maturing in December. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the country would not default despite the floods. 
• Climate campaigners have launched the world’s first registry of fossil fuel reserves, production and emissions, called the Global Registry of Fossils Fuels, covering more than 75% of global production 
• A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of Taiwan on Sunday. Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed almost 50 people in Nepal and India in recent days.

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COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Smuggling Bid Foiled: 16 wheat and flour smuggling bids were foiled by the Pindi Food Department. [ET]
• Fruit Exports: Rs 6.39 billion was the export value of fruits in August 2022, up 0.29% compared to Rs 6.37 billion in August 2021. [ET]
• Russian Wheat: Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Pakistan wheat in addition to gas supplies keeping in view the damage to the country's breadbasket following catastrophic floods, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated. [ET]
• Rice Crop: Lives have been lost, crops have been destroyed, and there is doom and gloom across the country. However, rice has escaped the worst and is headed towards record numbers. If 20-30% losses have been suffered, this amounts to about 500,000 acres. As a rule of thumb, one tonne of rice is exported per acre, so about half a million tonnes of exportable rice has been lost. Last year, Pakistan’s exports were at 4.7m tonnes — this year the exporters predict the number will fall to 4-4.2m tonnes. [Dawn]
• Weekly Cotton Review: Stability in the rate of cotton was seen last week amid a bearish trend in the international markets. Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has requested that the government should allow import of cotton and other agricultural products from India. Textile sector is in crisis due to cotton and cotton yarn disparity, continuous rise in value of the US dollar and overall recession in international markets. [BR]

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AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Post-Floods Recovery: The water level in the Manchhar Lake further receded on Monday with officials expecting the situation to return to “complete normalcy”, provided that the water continued to flow to the River Indus without any disruption. [ET] [Dawn]
• Revision of Tariff: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has dismissed the telecom industry’s petition for revision of tariff from commercial to industrial tariff. [BR] [ET]
• Canal Breach: A 70-foot breach occurred in Degi Minor Canal near Basti Qaiser Chohan, some 28km from Rahim Yar Khan, late on Saturday. Reports said that the felling of trees in recent days weakened the banks of the canal. Initially, the breach was 40 feet but it widened to 70 feet due to the strong current. [Dawn]
• Russian Oil Imports: Pakistan can import oil from Russia on deferred payment as both countries are in talks to discuss the possibility after the recent meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand. [ET]
• Woes of The Cargo Industry: Pakistan’s cargo and freight forwarding industry remains in the limelight for its vivacity in serving the importers and exporters. Though the National Transport Policy 2018 and the National Freight and Logistics Policy (NFLP) 2021 set clear dogmas for the stakeholders, Pakistan International Freight Forwarders Association (PIFFA) has reported the economic pains of around 600 freight and logistics companies. [Dawn]
• Biogas Helps Prevent Deforestation: The rural population in Pakistan primarily uses firewood and cow dung cakes as sources of energy for cooking and heating as they are easily available and economically viable. [ET]

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AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• Default on Debt: Pakistan will not default on debt obligations despite catastrophic floods, the finance minister Miftah Ismail said on Sunday, signalling there would be no major deviation from reforms designed to stabilise a struggling economy with over $ 30 billion in estimated damages. [BR] [BR]
• IMF to Back Relief Efforts: Pakistan received an advance confirmation from Saudi Arabia on Sunday to roll over its existing $3 billion deposit maturing in December and an assurance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its support to flood relief and reconstruction efforts. [Dawn] [ET]
• Nature-Based Solutions to Conserve Rainwater: Environmentalists and experts on water conservation have suggested that nature-based solutions must be adopted for utilising rainwater to recharge the fast declining groundwater level and also for mitigating the serious problem of urban flooding in the country. [Dawn]
• Aerial Spray in Flood-Hit Areas of Sindh: Amid growing cases of dengue and waterborne diseases, the Sindh administration has asked the federal government for an aircraft owned by its plant protection department to carry out aerial fumigation in the flood-hit areas of the province. WHO warned about a wave of disease that will affect the flood affected areas. [Dawn]
• Solar’s Highway Robbery: Discos are buying surplus rooftop energy generation at Rs 12.95, selling it to our neighbours at Rs 27.67 during off-peak hours, and back to consumers at Rs 33.99 during peak hours. [Dawn]
• PM to Attend State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth Today: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Sunday, a day after arriving in London to attend the state funeral of late Queen Elizabeth II. [ET]
• Over Reliance on Export Schemes: The 10-year GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) Plus scheme of the European Union, under which Pakistani exporters get duty-free access for textiles, clothing and leather items, is expiring on December 31, 2023. Thereafter, a new slightly modified 10-year scheme will apply. [ET]

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INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Russia Ukraine War: Russia has widened its strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in the past week following setbacks on the battlefield and is likely to expand its target range further, Britain said on Sunday. [BR] [Dawn]
• Database on Fossil Fuels: Climate campaigners have launched the world’s first registry of fossil fuel reserves, production and emissions, called the Global Registry of Fossils Fuels, covering more than 75% of global production. This database makes previously hard-to-access data publicly available. [AlJazeera]
• Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan Border Clashes: At least 81 people were killed in clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan this week, in the worst violence the countries have seen in years, while the international community called for calm. [BR] [Dawn] [Al Jazeera] [The News]
• Landslides Kill 48 in Nepal and India: Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed almost 50 people in Nepal and India in recent days. In Western Nepal, at least 22 people died after landslides buried more than 100 houses on Friday. [BR]
• Strong Earthquake Hits Southeastern Taiwan: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the sparsely populated southeastern part of Taiwan on Sunday, the island’s weather bureau said, derailing train carriages, causing a convenience store to collapse and trapping hundreds on mountain roads. [BR]

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PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• Opinion: Snap elections can help arrest economic slide - “The story of the overall economy is dismal. No sector is a beneficiary of this chaos. PTI is lucky not to be in power today. The PML-N was lucky in the past to create an illusion of governance and pro-business policies, as the party's timings of power in the past coincided with peaks of economic cycles. Now they are being exposed. The bubble is being busted. Some say it is karma.” - By Ali Khizar [BR]

Opinion: Is it time for a food system reset in Pakistan? - “While Pakistan has been blessed with agriculture resources, they are consistently strained due to demographic pressure, the impact of climate change, encroachment of arable lands, soil erosion, water shortage and lack of focus on productivity.” - By Ahmad Mukhtar[ET]