Latest news with #Rs29
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Islamabad: prices of essential kitchen items show rising trend
ISLAMABAD: The prices of essential kitchen items have witnessed an increase during this week past against the previous week owing to third successive increase in petrol and diesel prices, revealed a survey carried out by Business Recorder here on Saturday. Within the past one and half month, the government has increased the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) oil mainly used for transportation purposes from trains to trucks, buses and trailers by Rs29 per litre and petrol mainly used by private and small vehicles by Rs19 per litre. The increase in fuel prices has played a major role in escalating the prices as transportation cost has jumped up by at least 10 per cent during the period which not only resulted in increasing the prices of daily use items but also edible items from vegetables, meat, eggs to fruits. An increase was noted in chicken prices as it went up from Rs16,000 to Rs16,400 per 40kg in the wholesale market, which in retail is being sold at Rs440 per kg and chicken meat at Rs700 per kg. Eggs' price went up from Rs7,000 to Rs7,300 per carton of 30 dozen which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs260-275 against Rs250-260 per dozen. Sugar price went down from Rs9,100 to Rs8,800 per 50kg bag in the wholesale market, while in retail it is being sold at 190 per kg. Wheat flour price remained unchanged as the best quality wheat flour ex-mill price per 15kg bag is at Rs1,100 which in retail is being sold at Rs1,150 per 15kg bag and normal quality wheat flour per 15kg bag is available at Rs1,000 which in retail is being sold at Rs1,050 per bag. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
USC closure
Listen to article The government's decision to shutter the loss-making Utility Stores Corporation (USC) by the end of July is a painful but necessary corrective to decades of fiscal bleeding. Between July and December 2024 alone, USC lost over Rs6 billion and has net liabilities of over Rs50 billion. Meanwhile, despite offering low prices, USC actually saw sales crash by 50% in recent times. This also puts the estimated Rs29 billion needed for golden handshakes into perspective. If no action was taken, USC would have spent the same amount just to keep running over the next few years. Although the government is considering limiting payouts to only 5,217 'regular' employees, after wasting billions for decades, skimping on severance pay is not the way to go. Future savings can still be reallocated to more productive initiatives that support low-income citizens. In the meantime, the government must ensure price control enforcement in areas that were highly reliant on utility stores to minimise the impact of closures on shoppers who actually relied on them. While a resolution for USC appears nearly finalised, progress on the much-publicised privatisation deals of other SOEs has been minimal. PIA has failed to attract suitable bidders despite multiple attempts, and the recent deal with Russia to revive Pakistan Steel Mills may backfire. None of the two dozen SOEs up for privatisation have sparked the kind of interest that would inspire government confidence. The closure of USC proves the government can make tough choices. Now, it must accelerate the pace of decision-making - from years to weeks — because, like USC, many state-owned enterprises are losing so much money that waiting to sell them for cents on the dollar could end up being more costly than shutting them down and salvaging what remains.
Express Tribune
17-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Govt offloads another white elephant
Listen to article The government on Wednesday reaffirmed its decision to close the lossmaking Utility Stores Corporation from the end of this month and constituted a panel to consider giving a golden handshake to 11,421 employees that may cost it over Rs29 billion. It was not clear whether the government would give the severance package to all 11,421 employees or limit it to regular 5,217 employees. The discussions took place during a meeting of a committee constituted by the Prime Minister to oversee the closure and privatization of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the meeting, which was attended by other cabinet members. The committee has been tasked with ensuring a smooth and transparent closure process, formulating a suitable VSS for USC employees, and recommending a structured timeline for privatisation, said the Ministry of Finance. The finance ministry said that the committee reviewed the progress made in the light of the tasks assigned to it and held detailed deliberations on the way forward. "It was reaffirmed that, in accordance with the government's directives, all operations of USC will be closed by July 31, 2025," according to the Ministry of Finance. The committee discussed at length the formulation of a fair and financially viable Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for the USC employees, it added. Trading entities like USC struggled with high liabilities, ineffective subsidy utilisation, and operational inefficiencies, according to the SOEs performance report that the Ministry of Finance released last week. It added that dependence on delayed government subsidies creates cash flow crisis, while poor inventory management worsens fiscal risks The Finance Ministry report stated that the USC lost Rs6.1 billion at the operating level during July-December period of last fiscal year and it was riddled with finance costs, adding to the burden due to compounding operational losses. The USC model is subsidy-driven rather than market and cumulative losses stood at Rs15.9 billion as of December last year, according to the Finance Ministry. It added that the balance sheet revealed a weak equity of just Rs1.8 billion, heavily overshadowed by current liabilities of Rs50.7 billion, reflecting solvency risks and negative working capital. According to the official documents, there were a total 11,421 employees of the USC, including 5,217 regular employees. The total cost of the golden handshake is estimated at Rs29.2 billion, including Rs22.8 billion for the regular employees. However, these figures are not final and the cost of the severance package will be determined by another committee. The details showed that the regular employees having over 20 years association with the USC would get two running basic pays of the completed years while those having less than 20 years of experience will get either three running basic pay of completed years or 125% of the basic pay of the remaining months, whichever is higher. The regular employees will also get terminal dues and house rents. There are 3,319 contractual employees who are proposed to receive two running basic pay of completed years as compensation, which will cost Rs3.5 billion. Another 2,885 are the daily wagers who are proposed to be given two salaries of the completed years that will cost Rs2.9 billion. The entity has 21 properties and it also faces a major issue of non-payments of promised subsidies of over Rs50 billion by the Ministry of Finance. The Finance Ministry handout stated that during the course of the meeting, the members examined various dimensions of the proposed VSS, including its projected size, potential fiscal impact, and legal and operational implications associated with its structure and rollout. The Committee recommended that the Privatization Commission be consulted regarding the optimal structuring and feasibility of privatization or alternatively asset sales linked with the USC operations. To facilitate a comprehensive analysis, the Chair constituted a sub-committee headed by the Secretary Establishment Division, stated the ministry. The committee will include representatives from the Finance Division and the Industries & Production Division to examine the legal and operational aspects, contours, size, and structure of the proposed VSS and submit its report to the main Committee by the end of the week. This will enable the Committee to consolidate its findings and finalize its report and recommendations to be submitted to the Prime Minister in line with the Terms of Reference, said the Ministry of Finance. The SOEs report stated that USC's heavy reliance on government subsidies and declining sales highlighted systemic inefficiencies. The USC reflects a structurally weak and inefficient business model that is unsustainable without continuous government subsidies. The report showed that the company's sales sharply dropped by more than 50% compared to the same period last year — showing the company's inability to retain market share or operate competitively. However, one of the reasons for drop in sales was the government's decision to wind up the entity. The report underlined that without structural reform, including privatization, supply chain digitization, direct beneficiary targeting (DBT) of subsidies, and converting to a lean wholesale model, USC will continue draining fiscal resources with no viable path to self-sustainability.
Business Recorder
12-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
SPI-based inflation rises
ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation continued to show an upward trend as it increased by 0.95 for the current week ended on July 10, 2025 compared to 0.73 in the previous week. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), major increase is observed in the prices of chicken 22.61percent, tomatoes 13.45percent, onions 6.25percent, potatoes 2.79percent, garlic 2.36percent, sugar 1.90percent, gur 1.89percent and rice basmati broken 0.84percent. On the other hand, decrease is observed in the prices of LPG 2.56percent, mustard oil 0.81percent, moong0.41percent, cooking oil 5-litre 0.20percent, and wheat flour and vegetable ghee 2.5kg 0.02percent each. Weekly SPI inflation up 0.73pc During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 19 items increased by 37.25percent, six items decreased by 11.77percent and 26 items remained stable at 50.98percent. The Year-on-Year trend depicts a decrease of 1.23percent. A major decrease is observed in the prices of onions 50.04percent, tomatoes 45.66percent, electricity charges for Q1 37.62percent, garlic 22.80percent, wheat flour 22.19percent, mash 20.46percent, tea Lipton 17.93percent, potatoes 12.97percent, masoor 9.37percent, and diesel 1.58percent, while a major increase is observed in the prices of ladies sandal 55.62percent, sugar 29.17percent, moong18.89 percent, beef14.71percent, chicken 13.77percent, gur 12.66percent, vegetable ghee 2.5kg and 1kg 12.46percent each, firewood 10.44 percent, powdered milk 9.41 percent, lawn printed 7.89 percent, and shirting 7.31 percent. The SPI for consumption groups of Rs17,732 to 22,888 with an increase of 1.06 percent was recorded at 300.90 against previous week's calculation of 297.63, the SPI for the income group Rs22,889-29,517 with an increase of 0.99percent was recorded at 325.06 points against previous week's recording of 321.87 points, the SPI for the income group Rs29,518-44,175 with an increase of 1.02 percent was recorded at 315.58 points against previous week's reading of 312.40 and SPI for the monthly income group above Rs44,175 registered an increase of 0.88 percent was recorded at 317.79 points against 315.02 points of the previous week calculation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
21-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Weekly inflation in Pakistan up 0.27%
ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation for the week ended June 19, 2025 registered an increase of 0.27 per cent owing to an escalation in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 14.86 per cent, potatoes 3.75 per cent, diesel 3.10 per cent, gur 2.25 per cent, chicken 2.17 per cent, sugar 2.13 per cent, petrol 1.88 per cent, mustard oil 1.12 per cent, powdered milk 0.97 per cent, rice basmati broken 0.84 per cent, cooked daal 0.68 per cent, and tea prepared 0.39 per cent. The SPI data released here on Friday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on year-on-year (YoY) depicted a decrease of 2.06 owing to decrease in the prices of onions 63.22 per cent, tomatoes 56.11 per cent, electricity charges for Q1 41.63 per cent, garlic 32.58 per cent, maash 19.09 per cent, potatoes 17.97per cent, tea Lipton 17.93 per cent, wheat flour 14.16 per cent, chicken six per cent, masoor 5.87 per cent, rice IRRI-6/9 witnessed a reduction of 4.47per cent and chilies powder 3.86 per cent. Weekly SPI up by 0.02pc While on YoY major increase was observed in the prices of ladies sandal 55.62 per cent, moong 28.90 per cent, sugar 26.19 per cent, powdered milk 25.93 per cent, LPG 21.77 per cent eggs 17.90 per cent, beef 15.74 per cent, vegetable ghee 2.5kg 13 per cent, vegetable ghee 1kg 12.73 per cent), bananas 12.47 per cent, gur 10.85 per cent, firewood 10.80per cent and cooked daal 10.64 per cent. On the other hand, a decrease is observed in the prices of eggs (9.53 per cent), tomatoes (5.62 per cent), garlic (1.03 per cent), pulse gram (0.35 per cent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.17 per cent), cooking oil 5 litre (0.03 per cent) and bananas and firewood (0.01 per cent) each. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 (45.10 per cent) items increased, eight (15.69 per cent) items decreased and 20 (39.21 per cent) items remained stable. The SPI for the lowest consumption group with monthly income up to Rs17,732 witnessed an increase of 0.05 per cent and was recorded at 299.50 points from previous week's 299.40 points. The SPI for consumption groups of Rs17,732 to 22,888 with an increase of 0.05 per cent was recorded at 295.36 against previous week's calculation of 295.20, the SPI for the income group Rs22,889-29,517 with an increase of 0.10per cent was recorded at 320.05 points against previous week's recording of 319.72 points, the SPI for the income group Rs29,518-44,175 with an increase of 0.13 per cent was recorded at 310.88 points against previous week's reading of 310.47 and SPI for the monthly income group above Rs44,175 recorded an increase of 0.42 per cent from 313.60points to 312.29. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
