ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday could not take decisions on continuation of subsidised power rates to industrial sector or ban on export of wheat in order to stop the increase in the price of the commodity.
The meeting, presided over by PM’s Adviser on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, agreed in principle on tax exemptions for procurement of additional ships in the country or limiting oil imports only through domestic ships, but concluded that a decision in this regard should be taken by the federal cabinet.
Informed sources said that ministers were divided when the Ministry of National Food Security & Research proposed a ban on export of wheat to stop rise in the price of the commodity in local markets.
Railways Minister Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed opposed the ban and said that such a decision would send a message of shortage and weakness to the market and thus encourage hoarding of the commodity.
