PAR News - Wed, 23 Nov 2022

TOPLINE

• Pakistan is facing a sugar shortage of 260,000 tons for the ongoing year. According to the data shared by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and the Ministry of Industries and production, this year, Sindh province has estimated a reduction of 40% in sugarcane production with the export decision being revisited on Thursday.
• Consumers in different areas of the city argue over the huge price differential between official and retail rates being charged on vegetables and essential items. Rs 7.5 billion was the export value of vegetables in Oct 2022, up 144% compared to Rs 3.1 billion in Oct 2021.
• The tunnel of the Neelum–Jhelum hydroelectric project might collapse at any time and the consequences could be disastrous, NEPRA’s chief warned.
• The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has provided 60 tonnes of wheat seeds to farmers in most affected districts of Sindh.
• The stuck-up refunds and tax credits of export-oriented industries swelled to over Rs 200 billion in the current fiscal year, and exporters warned of closing down their textile units as a severe liquidity crunch made it impossible to continue their operations.
• Beijing shut parks and museums on Tuesday and Shanghai tightened rules for people entering the city as Chinese authorities grapple with a spike in Covid-19 cases.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Wheat Support Price: The cabinet okayed enhancing the current support price of wheat from Rs 2,600 per 40 kg to Rs 3,000 per 40 kg to encourage the growers. [Dawn] [ET]
• Sugar Shortage: Pakistan is facing a sugar shortage of 260,000 tons for the ongoing year, official data revealed. According to the data shared with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and the Ministry of Industries and production, this year, Sindh province has estimated a reduction of 40% in sugarcane production, which will create further problems. The document further said that Pakistan despite no sugar export in the past two years imported a total of 0.677 million tons of the commodity to meet the local requirements. The export decision was rejected by the government yesterday but will be revisited on Thursday again. [BR] [ET]
• Olive Production: Pakistan, Italy team up to enhance local olive production with the Project being funded by Italy to cost €1.5 million. [ET]
• Vegetable Prices: With already under stress due to high petroleum, gas and electricity rates, consumers in different areas of the city argue over the huge price differential between official and retail rates being charged on vegetables and essential items. Rs 7.5 billion was the export value of vegetables in Oct 2022, up 144% compared to Rs 3.1 billion in Oct 2021. [Dawn] [ET]
• Spices Import: Rs 2.4 billion was the import value of spices in Oct 2022, down 33% compared to Rs 3.5 billion in Oct 2021, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. [ET]
• Duty on Man-Made Fabric: Despite a gap of over three-fourths between the demand and supply of man-made fabric, the government is considering imposing a 5% regulatory duty on the import of filament yarn, apparently to give protection to the local manufacturers. [ET]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Cost-Plus Reflection of Transportation: Planning Commission (PC) has urged National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to allow a cost-plus reflection of the transportation cost of the Thar coal in the tariff, to make utilization of the indigenous coal viable. This was suggested by Planning Commission’s Member Energy during a meeting held on Thar coal convened on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has constituted a committee to ascertain the availability and demand of Thar coal and commercial viability of Thar rail connectivity project. [BR]
• Neelum-Jhelum Tunnels Might Collapse: The tunnel of the Neelum–Jhelum hydroelectric project might collapse at any time and the consequences could be disastrous, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)’s chief warned on Tuesday. [Dawn] [ET]
• Wheat Seeds to Flood Affected Farmers: The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has provided 60 tonnes of wheat seeds to farmers Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Matiari, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah), Dadu and Khairpur. The Al-Khidmat Foundation (AKF) has distributed wheat seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to 200 flood-affected farmers hailing from different areas of the district. [Dawn] [PO]
• Reko Diq Deal: The lawyer for Barrick Gold informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that if the company’s agreement with the Pakistan government was finalised by December 15, the penalty of $9 billion on the country would be quashed and over $4 billion investment would be made in the Reko Diq project. [ET]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• Monetary Policy to be Announced on Friday: The meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will be held on Friday, November 25, 2022, at SBP Karachi to take a decision on the key policy rate. [BR]
• COAS Appointment: After the government spent Tuesday trying to dispel the impression of a deadlock with the military over the appointment of a new army chief, the military confirmed late at night that it had dispatched the summary to the defence ministry. [Dawn] [ET]
• FBR Fails to Refund Exporters: As the stuck-up refunds and tax credit of export-oriented industries swelled to over Rs 200 billion in the current fiscal year, the exporters on Tuesday warned of closing down their textile units as a severe liquidity crunch made it impossible to continue their operations. [Dawn]
• K-P Approves Insaf Taleem Card: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet on Tuesday approved Rs 998.500 million for Insaf Taleem Card to help needy college students with their studies. [Dawn] [ET]
• IFC Launches $225 Million Platform to  Back Startups: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group has launched a new $225 million platform to help build the digital economy in Pakistan and countries of Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. [Dawn]
• LG Polls in Karachi: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Tuesday that the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions will be held on January 15, 2023. [Dawn] [ET] [PT] [The Nation]
• IMF Talks: Despite the worst flood in the country‘s history and hundreds of billions of rupees in unbudgeted subsidies, Pakistan has initially projected only Rs 990 billion in fiscal slippages in this financial year, hardly showing a negative impact of Rs 55 billion on its revenues. [ET]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Oil Prices: Oil rose on Tuesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said OPEC+ was sticking with output cuts and could take further steps to balance the market, outweighing global recession worries and concern about China’s rising COVID-19 case numbers. Brent crude rose $1.45, or 1.7%, to $88.90 by 1302 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $1.16, or 1.5%, at $81.20. [BR] [ET]
• Dubai Airport Traffic Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels: Passenger traffic at Dubai international airport returned to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter, officials said on Tuesday, with volumes nearing 18.5 million at the major aviation hub. [BR] [ET] [The News] [The Nation] [Gulf News]
• Musk Postpones Paid Verification on Twitter: Twitter boss Elon Musk has postponed the relaunch of paid verification on the platform, extending a suspension he previously said would end this month. [BR] [Dawn]
• Iran Starts Enriching Uranium to 60% Purity: Iran said on Tuesday it had begun producing uranium enriched to 60 per cent at its Fordow plant, an underground facility that reopened three years ago amid the breakdown of its nuclear deal with major powers. [Dawn] [Reuters]
• China’s Covid Cases Rise: Beijing shut parks and museums on Tuesday and Shanghai tightened rules for people entering the city as Chinese authorities grapple with a spike in Covid-19 cases that has deepened concern about the economy and dimmed hopes for a quick reopening. [Dawn] [Al Jazeera] [The Guardian]
• Central China Factory Fire: 38 people were killed and two were injured in a fire at a factory in central China, state media said on Tuesday, with authorities blaming workers for illegal welding. [Dawn] [ET] [Al Jazeera] [CNN]
• Indonesia Earthquake: The death toll from an earthquake on Indonesia’s main island of Java jumped to 268 on Tuesday. Rescue efforts turned to any survivors still under debris in areas made hard to reach by the mass of obstacles thrown onto the roads by the quake. [ET] [DT] [ABC News]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• ECC Approves Rs 60.606 Million Additional Funds for National Commission for the Human Rights (NCHR) [BR]
• Climate Change Will Take Dengue to Colder Cities: With perilous manifestations of global warming, environmental degradation and shift in monsoon patterns predicted in the future, Pakistan will also have to battle dengue outbreaks in areas where the virus had never spread before. [Dawn]
• Opinion: Making waves at COP27 - “The 27th annual Conference of Parties under The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded at Sharm El Sheikh last weekend. The two-week-long conference resulted in a historical commitment to a loss and damage fund for particularly vulnerable countries but fell short of a consensus on phasing out fossil fuels, thus endangering humanity’s hope of restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The biggest takeaway for Pakistan, however, was the powerful advocacy and diplomacy displayed by its delegation at the conference.” - By Zukhruf Amjad [Dawn]

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