Miftah Ismail Stresses Need To Rationlize Agriculture Policies To Save Import Bill

Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Miftah Ismail Thursday said that by rationalizing policies in agriculture sector, the value of agriculture products could be doubled in five years which would reduce the burden of import bill worth billion of dollars.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Mar, 2018 ) :Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Miftah Ismail Thursday said that by rationalizing policies in agriculture sector, the value of agriculture products could be doubled in five years which would reduce the burden of import bill worth billion of Dollars. "Shifting of focus from traditional crops to high value crops will not only help earning huge foreign exchange reserves but it will also change the fate of farmers and other people connected with this sector," he said while addressing the 2nd "Leaders in Islamabad" Business Summit here. The event was organized by Martin Dow in collaboration with Nutshell Forum and Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms and was attended by business delegations from China, GCC and other regional countries. Miftah said the government had to pay huge subsidy on export of surplus sugar and wheat, however the focus should be given to produce high quality cotton, and other high value crops including that of edible oil and pulses.

Pointing out some structural issues in Pakistan economy, the adviser said the government had nothing to do with running businesses. He said in order to streamline the course of national economy, it was vital to sell all public sector entities including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), and Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

He said every month, the government was paying over Rs 400 million to PSM as a bailout package however this amount could be utilized for development projects for the people. Talking about budget targets, Miftah said the government would manage to achieve most of the targets however few targets including budget deficit could be missed. "We will try out best to contain the budget deficit in five per cent," he said adding that the current government inherited the budget deficit at over 8 per cent and it managed to bring it down to around four per cent within three years.

He said the government devalued the Pakistani Currency in December last year due to increasing trade deficit. "When imports are going high and exports are on declining trend, the government has the best tool in the box to devalue its currency," he added. He however said there was nothing wrong with high current account deficit or trade deficit as in a developing country like Pakistan, most of the imports consist of machinery to install new industries which would ultimately give a sustainable economic boost to the country. Commenting on energy sector achievements, the adviser said the government had added around 12,000 MW additional electricity in the national grid, which would be fully utilized in June. Besides, arrangements have been made to add 20,000 more electricity in next two to three years in the system, which would end the load-shedding forever, he added. He hoped that the target of economic growth of 6 per cent set for the current fiscal year would be achieved which mean that there would be more business activities, more jobs, and more revenues. Earlier addressing the Summit, Chairman Martin Dow Group Jawed Akhai said the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit is Pakistan's most prestigious and well-attended business summit.

He said this year the summit features 20 international speakers including distinguished professors from Ivy League Universities and global CEOs. Business delegations from China, GCC and other regional countries are amongst the 800 delegates present at the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit 2018.