In light of the government’s recent economic achievements, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday hinted at further drop in the consumer price inflation and State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) key policy rate in the coming months.

“The government has strived hard to bring about economic stability,” said the finance minister, asserting the the efforts of the ruling coalition have started paying off.

Announcing that the much-resisted structural economic reforms were finally underway, the finance czar forecast the inflationary pressures to ease further and central bank’s hawkish monetary outlook to continue. “Inflation has dropped to single digits,” said Aurangzeb expecting it to hit new lows.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation fell to 6.9% year-on-year in September 2024, the lowest since January 2021, down from 9.6% in August, driven by the high base effect, easing commodity and energy markets, and a stable currency, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Last month, the SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee slashed the key policy rate by 200bps to 17.5% from 19.5%, citing a steep fall in both headline and core inflation over the past two months.

Expressing his condolences over the loss of Chinese engineers working in Pakistan, Aurangzeb said that no amount of money could be placed on the loss of life.

“Chinese nationals targeted in Karachi were the officials of independent power producers (IPPs) engaged in talks with the government of Pakistan to revise the agreements.”

Deceased engineers were collaborating with Minister for Energy (Power Division) Awais Leghari on IPPs projects, he said, adding that talks were ongoing with IPPs to provide further relief to the public.

At least three persons including two Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion near Jinnah International Airport on October 6, while another Chinese national and over a dozen others were injured.

Highlighting their negative impacts on growth and stability, Aurangzeb said that strikes and agitation were taking a toll on the economy and bleeding the national exchequer.

“Such actions cost the country around Rs190 billion per day, severely affecting economic growth,” he said. 

Aurangzeb urged those calling for strikes to consider their repercussions and instead engage in negotiations to resolve their issues.

Dun & Bradstreet has been endorsed by TrustRadius and its products have secured several awards from the platform. TrustRadius, a buyer intelligence platform for business technology, acknowledged D&B Hoovers by conferring the Best Relationship, Best Value for Price, and Best Feature Set awards to it. D&B Hoovers TM helps sellers access trusted company and contact data to help plan account strategies, assess prospect growth potential and risk, and ultimately, close more deals.

Similarly, Dun & Bradstreet’s credit-to-cash platform Finance Analytics bagged Top Rated and Tech Cares Awards in 2024 from TrustRadius in addition to securing Best Relationship, Best Value for Price, and Best Feature Set awards last year. Dun & Bradstreet’s risk mitigation portal Risk Analytics secured Tech Cares awards in 2023 and 2024.

These awards jointly recognize Dun & Bradstreet’s ever-expanding potential. The awards are determined based on the quantity and quality of satisfied customers who have left positive, vetted reviews, and shine a spotlight on the best of the best.

A technology decisioning platform, TrustRadius helps buyers make key decisions based on vetted product information and verified customer-generated reviews. It enables businesses and professionals to access and provide feedback of software and technology products. The focus of the enterprise is on delivering a bias-free environment featuring well-researched reviews posted by real people.

Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan on Monday emphasized the need to increase Pakistan’s rice exports and ensure compliance with European food safety standards, citing the country’s 25% share of the European rice export market.

He said during a meeting with the representative of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), a news release issued here.

Pakistan holds 25% of the European rice export market compared to India’s 16%. To maintain this competitive edge, Jam Kamal highlighted the necessity of collaboration between the government and exporters.

Rice exports play a vital role in Pakistan’s economy, ranking second in export value after cotton. Rice exporters are a primary source of revenue and employment, with the government aiming to increase exports from $4 billion to $6-7 billion in the near future.

“We are focusing on improving our standards to meet international food safety requirements, especially in Europe,” Jam Kamal added.

Recent diplomatic developments include discussions with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on expanding rice and meat exports to Malaysia. A Pakistani business delegation, led by Jam Kamal, will visit Malaysia in November to explore new opportunities.

Malik Faisal Jahangir, Chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), said that Pakistan’s rice exports face fewer regulatory challenges, with only 74 Rapid Alerts for pesticides were issued last year, compared to 264 for India.

Pakistan remains one of the lowest-risk countries concerning food safety standards. However, Jahangir expressed concern over potential harm to Pakistan’s export reputation from negative campaigns.

Jam Kamal stressed educating farmers to improve rice production quality and reduce alerts.

Balochistan, despite producing a small quantity of rice, cultivates some of Pakistan’s best organic rice.

He called for a joint effort by stakeholders to develop a five-year strategy enhancing Pakistan’s rice export capacity and compliance with international standards.

Jam Kamal urged REAP to propose actionable suggestions for achieving the government’s export targets within the next year, emphasizing the importance of addressing food safety concerns, especially in the European Union, where standards are becoming increasingly stringent.—APP