PAR News - Tues, 29 Nov 2022

29/11/22 - Sugar Export, Water Release, Dissolution of Assemblies, Covid-19 Protests & Fuel Demand, Russia-Ukraine

PAR News - Tues, 29 Nov 2022
PAR News - Tues, 29 Nov 2022
PAR News
November 29, 2022
News

TOPLINE

  • Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed his willingness to allow the export of sugar; however, a final decision with regard to the quantity would be taken by the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet. The Agriculture Department has invited applications from sugar cane growers till January 4, 2023 for production competition.
  • 80,300 cusecs of water was released from various rim stations with an inflow of 48,300 cusecs on Monday. While Pakistan’s per capita water availability has come down from 5650 cubic meters in 1951 to an alarming level of 908 cubic meters per annum, pushing Pakistan to the verge of water-scarcity.
  • Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said that PTI senior leadership has approved the decision to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.
  • General Asim Munir took over as the new chief of army staff at a ceremony held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
  • Protests against China’s strict Covid measures failed to materialize on Monday night as police were out in force in the capital and other major cities to deter a repeat of the weekend’s demonstrations. This has caused oil prices to slide to their lowest level this year, as China is  the world’s biggest crude importer, stoking concern over the outlook for fuel demand.
  • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country must prepare for new missile attacks from Russia, while millions still remain without power as a result of relentless bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

  • Cotton Market: The local cotton market on Monday remained bearish and the trading volume remained very low. Commenting on the lackluster business activity on the cotton market, Naseem Usman said that the rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 14,500 to Rs 17,500 per maund. [BR]
  • Sugar Export: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is said to have expressed his willingness to allow the export of sugar; however, a final decision with regard to the quantity would be taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet Tuesday (Nov 29). [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [PT]
  • Sugarcane Production Completion: The Agriculture Department has invited applications from the sugarcane growers till January 4, 2023 for production competition. A spokesman for the Agriculture (Extension) Department said here on Monday that growers of 13 districts including Faisalabad, Jhang, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan were eligible to apply for sugarcane production competition if they had 5 acres to 25 acres cultivable land. [The Nation]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

  • Air Pollution: 412 AQI was recorded in Lahore which is considered hazardous by experts. [ET]
  • IRSA Water Release: Released 80,300 cusecs water from various rim stations with an inflow of 48,300 cusecs on Monday. [PO]
  • Water Availability: Pakistan’s per capita water availability has come down from 5650 cubic meter in 1951 to an alarming level of 908 cubic meter per annum, pushing Pakistan to the verge of water-scarcity. The country can store only 10% of its annual river flows against the world average of 40%, said Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd), Chairman of the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). [ET]
  • Ground Water Shortage in Northwest: Takht-e-Nasrati in northern Pakistan was once known for its lush greenery. But over the past 10 years local people say life has become very different in this area of Karak district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [ARY]
  • Gresha Needs a Dam: Gresha, a dated area in district Khuzdar, entirely depends on agriculture and contributes a great amount of yield. Despite this, Gresha is neglected and pushed toward water scarcity. A majority of its residents are farmers whose only source of income is farming. Water shortage has become a stumbling block for them to get their bread and butter. [The Nation]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

  • PTI Resignations: Any decision by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers to resign en masse from all four provincial assemblies will bind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold by-polls on all vacant seats within two months, legal experts believe. Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said that PTI senior leadership has approved the decision to dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. [Dawn] [Dawn]
  • 17th Chief Of Army Staff: General Asim Munir took over as the new chief of army staff (COAS) at a ceremony held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. [Dawn]
  • TTP Ends Ceasefire with Govt: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday called off the ceasefire agreed with the government in June and ordered its militants to stage attacks across the country, according to a statement from the group. [BR] [Dawn]
  • Extended Fund Facility: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have started virtual discussions for the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. This was confirmed by Esther Perez Ruiz, IMF country representative in Pakistan, while replying to Business Recorder. [BR]
  • Tax-Exempted Areas: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established 16 Inland Revenue check posts with mobile teams on the routes originating from tax-exempt areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and erstwhile tribal areas to check documents of goods coming from these areas. [BR] [ET]
  • Banking Sector Shows Robust Performance: The sustained economic activity during 1HCY22 supported the expansion of the banking sector balance sheet by 16%, the Mid-Year Performance Review (MYPR) on the banking sector issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed on Monday. [Dawn] [MG]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

  • China COVID Protests: Protests against China’s strict Covid measures failed to materialize on Monday night as police were out in force in the capital and other major cities to deter a repeat of the weekend’s demonstrations. With evidence of a clampdown on the streets of Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing and elsewhere, crowds largely stayed away and passersby were regularly stopped for identity checks. The demonstrations sparked a small rally in Hong Kong, where dozens of people gathered in the city’s central business district and held up blank white sheets of paper in a silent protest tactic that has been gathering momentum worldwide. The protests have thrown up the most difficult challenge of Xi Jinping’s 10 years in power. [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg]
  • Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country must prepare for new missile attacks from Russia, while millions still remain without power as a result of relentless bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s electricity network is facing critical shortages after Russian strikes wreaked havoc on the country's grid, forcing emergency and scheduled blackouts ahead of winter. [CNBC] [CNN]
  • Oil Prices: Oil prices slid on Monday, falling close to their lowest level this year, as street protests against strict COVID-19 curbs in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, stoked concern over the outlook for fuel demand. Brent crude dropped by $1.32, or 1.6%, to trade at $82.31 a barrel at 10:48 a.m. ET (1548 GMT), having slumped more than 3% to $80.61 earlier in the session for its lowest since Jan. 4. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 75 cents, or 1%, to $75.53 after touching its lowest since Dec. 22 last year at $73.60. [BR]
  • Global Dollar Downturn: The dollar looked unstoppable earlier this year when investors were adding to bets on inflation and US rate hikes. Now they’re turning against it in droves. Former bulls including JPMorgan Asset Management and Morgan Stanley say the era of dollar strength is ending as cooling prices spur markets to trim bets on further Federal Reserve tightening. A longer-term downturn in the dollar has broad implications. It will ease stress on European economies caused by imported inflation, dampen the price of food purchases for the poorest nations, and reduce the debt repayment burdens for governments who borrow in the US currency. [Bloomberg]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

  • Comment: Six Tumultuous Years and a Legacy Unlike any Other - “General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the 10th chief of army staff in the country’s history, retires today (Tuesday) after two eventful terms as the commander of the Pakistan Army, which is among the world’s largest in terms of active personnel, with a standing force of around half a million.” - By Baqir Sajjad Syed [Dawn]
  • Editorial: Sugar Woes - “IT’S that time of year again when cane growers get anxious over the delay in the commencement of the new sugar harvest as manufacturers postpone crushing on one pretext or the other, while the government sits by watching the quarrel.” [Dawn]

PAR News - Tues, 29 Nov 2022

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