- Local wheat prices for domestic consumers have increased by almost 29% during the last six months.
- The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has further increased the prices of essential commodities including milk, tea, and cooking oil.
- A major breakdown in the power system on Thursday, due to an accidental fault in the southern transmission system badly affected interior Sindh, Balochistan, southern Punjab and Karachi.
- The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves further fell by $342 million due to external debt servicing.
- Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan is willing to engage conditionally with India for peace and prosperity of the region.
COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE
- Wheat Import Via Gwadar Port: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the dropping of two amendments in TCP tender documents for import of wheat through Gwadar Port for the time being, official sources told Business Recorder. [BR]
- Wheat Price: Local wheat price for the domestic consumers has increased by almost 29 percent during the last six months from Rs 2,409/40 kg to Rs 3,096.72/40 kg in September 2022, according to the sources in the Ministry of National Food Security. [BR]
- Rabi Wheat Production Target: The government on Thursday set a wheat production target at 28.4 million tons for the Rabi season 2022-2023 from an area of 9.3 million hectares of land. The decision to this effect was taken by the Federal Committee of Agriculture (FCA) meeting for Rabi season 2022-23 presided over by Tariq Bashir Cheema, Federal Minister for Food Security and Research (MNFSR), said a senior official of MNFSR. [BR] [Dawn]
- Smuggling Bid Foiled: 2,860 bags of wheat and flour were seized by Rawalpindi Food Department on Thursday. [ET]
- Price of Essential Items: The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has further increased the prices of essential commodities including milk, tea, and cooking oil. The price of milk has been increased from Rs 197 to Rs 217 per liter, tea from Rs 508 to Rs 748 per 450g, pack of 10 teabags from Rs 298 to Rs 580, Peshawari kahwa from Rs108 to Rs153 per 50g, branded ghee by Rs 141 per kilo, branded cooking oil by Rs 141 per liter, mosquito repellent by Rs 19, honey by Rs 39 per 250g, toothpaste by Rs 30 per 135g, and a small pack of noodles by Rs 3. [ET]
AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER
- Massive Power Outages: A major breakdown in the power system on Thursday due to an accidental fault in the southern transmission system, shut several generation units of 8000 MW, badly affecting interior Sindh, Balochistan, southern Punjab and Karachi. [BR] [BR] [ET]
- Fuel Prices: Despite a 14 percent appreciation of the rupee against the dollar, the prices of three major petroleum products, including high-speed diesel (HSD), are estimated to go up by Rs 5 to 12 per liter and that of petrol to drop by almost Rs 11 per liter on Oct 15 for next fortnight if the government maintains existing tax rates. [Dawn]
- Coal Power Project: Pakistan has decided to shelve a plan to set up an imported coal-fired power plant at Gwadar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) due to the high cost of imported fuel and its preference for local resources. [ET]
- Flood Devastation: G24 ministerial meeting, held in Washington DC on Tuesday, recognized that Pakistan is disproportionately bearing heavy losses from extreme climate-related events in the form of devastating monsoon floods. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday said Pakistan needs immediate help to rehabilitate its 33 million climate refugees affected by the recent devastating rains and floods. Addressing the 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Astana, Kazakhstan, Shehbaz said Pakistan is living through a colossal climate induced climate. [BR] [BR]
- France Offers Assistance for Desalination Plant: The French ambassador said that he would support the Sindh government by bringing experts from France to guide and support the provincial government to develop a workable and decent water supply system, including the installation of RO and desalination plants to convert sea water for drinking purposes. The French envoy said that their agriculture universities are doing a wonderful job in agricultural research and the same was being applied in the field. [ET]
AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY
- Forex Reserves Fall by $ 342 Million: The country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves further fell by $ 342 million due to external debt servicing. According to a weekly report issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday, the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country declined to $ 13.247 billion as of Oct 7, 2022 from $ 13.588 billion as of September 30, 2022. [BR]
- Dar Holds Meeting with WB Chief: The Finance Ministry Thursday said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has assured Pakistan’s commitment to implement the IMF programme, said a press release. The Finance Ministry in a tweet said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar held a very productive meeting with Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director IMF. [BR] [The News]
- Ready to Engage with India for Peace: Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan is willing to engage conditionally with India for peace and prosperity of the region. “Onus remains on India to take necessary steps to engage towards the result-oriented solutions of all the outstanding issues. [The News]
INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK
- Oil Prices: Oil prices traded about $ 1 higher on Thursday, reversing course as low levels of diesel inventory ahead of winter helped investors shrug off higher-than-expected stocks of crude and gasoline. Brent crude futures for December delivery rose $ 1.22 to $ 93.67 a barrel, a 1.3% gain, by 11:29 a.m EST (1529 GMT), after retreating earlier in the day. US crude rose $ 1.15, or 1.3%, to $ 88.42 per barrel. [BR]
- SC Verdict on Karnataka Hijab Ban: An Indian Supreme Court panel failed on Thursday to rule on a ban on hijabs in schools, referring the matter to the chief justice after a split decision, and leaving in place a state’s ruling against the scarves worn by women that sparked an uproar. [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [The Nation] [BBC]
- Russia Ukraine War: More than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns have been pounded by Russian missiles, leaving thousands of people without power, officials said on Thursday. The southern city of Mykolaiv was “massively shelled” and drones were used to attack buildings near Kyiv as retaliatory attacks by Russia continued after last weekend’s fatal blast on a Crimea bridge. Europe will more rapidly reduce its reliance on natural gas as a result of the war in Ukraine, replacing Russian energy and boosting the continent’s security of supply, Norway-based consultancy DNV predicted on Wednesday. [ET] [ET] [The National] [Reuters]
- Editorial: Remittance inflows amid forex volatility - “Home or workers’ remittances are declining. In the first quarter of this year, there was a fall of 6 percent to $7.7 billion. The month-on-month (MoM) decline in September was 12 percent to $2.4 billion. Remittances are likely to taper off in the remaining period of FY23 as well. However, it is difficult to establish a definite trend based on a sharp fall in September.” [BR]
