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Bilateral trade with Turkiye surpasses $ 1b in 11 months: FPCCI

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Bilateral trade with Turkiye surpasses $ 1b in 11 months: FPCCI

President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Irfan Iqbal Sheikh Thursday said that Pak-Turkiye bilateral economic and trade relations were improving; whereas the bilateral trade with Turkiye had surpassed $1 billion.

It was a milestone and we could only envisage Pakistani exports to Turkiye growing steadily from here onwards, he added.

It is pertinent to note that a high-profile and large Turkish trade delegation is visiting Pakistan; and, FPCCI has organized a multi-sector B2B networking session for the delegation.

The B2B event attracted top traders from all sectors of both the countries and a total of 350 traders took part in the meetings – encompassing diverse industries; exploration of joint ventures; transfer of knowledge and technology; assessing the trade potential in non-conventional product segments and vistas that will be opened after the Turkish parliament passes that Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) with Pakistan.

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Addressing the official dinner in honor of Turkish delegation hosted by FPCCI, Suleman Chawla, SVP FPCCI said that Pakistan and Turkiye had never been positioned for more robust, diverse and large-scale bilateral trade growth as they were now due to Pakistan’s accession into TIR Convention for land-based cargoes.

The Chairman of FPCCI’s Pakistan-Turkiye Joint Business Council (PTJBC) apprised the audiences that FPCCI was closely working with DEIK and TOBB for business-to-business and chamber-to-chamber cooperation; and, FPCCI was striving to benefit from Turkiye’s technological advancements in industrial production, quality standards as good as any other European countries, entrepreneurial zeal and exportable goods.

He added that after visit of the aforementioned delegation of Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association (DKiB), which were the top bodies of Turkish traders; and, this visit would result in enhanced bilateral trade and joint ventures.

Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan, head of the Turkish delegation, Supervisory Board Member of Türkiye Exporters Assembly and Vice President of Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association, said that the delegation comprised of 45 members and they were looking for their local partners for industrial, trade and commercial cooperation. He also apprised that Turkiye wanted to cement trade relations with Pakistan on the lines of Turkiye-Iran trade relations – making full use of geoeconomic advantages; transit trade and capitalizing on land-based regional connectivities.

Cemal Sangu, Consul General of Turkiye, highlighted that Pakistan had a population of 220 million and Turkey had a population 85 million; and, those 305 million plus people and consumers substantiate a bilateral trade volume of at least $5 billion. This milestone could be achieved in short-term and should not take more than 2 – 3 years to achieve; and, the new TGA should enable us to reach $15 billion 5 – 10 years, he added.

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Nepra approves Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff

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Nepra approves Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved Rs3.28 per unit increase in power tariff on the account of fuel cost adjustment for fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022-23.

The regulatory body has sent his decision to the federal government for final approval. The increase in electricity prices will come into effect immediately after it is approved by the government.

The distribution companies (Discos) would recover Rs159 billion from consumers during the period of six months (October 2023 to March 2024).

The revised rate will be applicable on all customers.

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Inflation goes up as people feel effects of fuel price hikes

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Inflation goes up as people feel effects of fuel price hikes

Food and fuel prices continue fuelling inflation in Pakistan as the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended September 21 witnessed a 0.93 per increase amid the complete government failure to check the rates.

Read more: Food prices owing to weaker rupee, supply shortages will push Pakistan inflation: ADB

The latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows that chicken price had jumped by 8.49pc followed by petrol 8.51pc, diesel 5.54pc garlic 5.19pc and onion 3.02pc.

At the same time, the year-on-year increase in SPI stood at 38.66pc when compared with the corresponding week of last year.

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Read more: More food inflation as fuel price hikes increase production, transportation costs

The rising inflation in Pakistan urgently needs government intervention and a study of how different governments are dealing with the challenge. Tax on cut on food items is one of methods.

Read more: Fighting the food inflation: From net-zero VAT to supermarkets seeking price cuts

Earlier this week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had warned that average inflation in Pakistan will soar to 29.2 per cent caused by supply shortages, continued currency depreciation, import restrictions, and fiscal stimulus for post-pandemic recovery.

Meanwhile, the rising food prices shouldn’t be a surprise given that the regular fuel price hikes are increasing the production and transportation costs.

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The main reason behind the persistent inflation in Pakistan is devaluation as the rupee had dropped to the record against the US dollar – a trend that is being reversed somewhat amid a crackdown on blacking marketers on hoarders.

However, the exchange rate is still too high, requiring further correction, as the people have also been hit hard for power and gas tariffs as the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
 

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Power tariff hikes: The more you devalue rupee, the more capacity charges you pay

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Power tariff hikes: The more you devalue rupee, the more capacity charges you pay

Devaluation – a process that started under former finance minister Miftah Ismail in late 2017 and late 2018 but gained momentum under the PTI government – is the root cause of inflation shouldn’t be a contested statement as it has made imports even more expensive for Pakistan.

And that’s countries like Pakistan are the worst affected due the rising commodities prices in global market as weaker currencies mean the overall impact is much deeper for them than the rest.

Read more: Rupee collapse is the reason behind all ills Pakistan is facing

This argument was endorsed by none other a high-ranking government official – Power Division Secretary Rashid Langrial who said on Monday that the capacity [charges] payment had doubled after the dollar exchange rate increased from Rs100 to Rs300, thus resulting in skyrocketing electricity tariffs for consumers. 

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