960417

Bilour concerned

at TCP monopoly

proposals in

edible oil import

KARACHI: Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour, President FPCCI has expressed serious concern over the proposal to give monopoly to Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in the import of edible oil for the ghee units in the country, says a FPCCI press release.

In a statement the FPCCI President said that the move would be a negation of de-regulation and free trade policy being vigorously pursued by the government. Besides, monopoly is a curse which will have damaging effect on both trade and industry.

Bilour said that FPCCI and the private sector had all along been demanding that the public sector trading should be discontinued and public sector trading organisations should be disbanded.

He said that less government was the best government and when the government itself is vigorously pursuing the policies of privatisation and de-regulation, the move to give monopoly to TCP was contrary to its own policies.

The FPCCI President also called for discouraging import of Refined, Bleached and Deodorised (RBD) Palm oil and for encouraging import of crude Palm oil, as every vegetable ghee mill in the organised sector in the country had refining and hydrogenation facility. This will not only reduce the cost of production but also save precious foreign exchange and revive numerous ghee mills which have gone sick due to unhealthy competition from un-organised sector. He suggested that the import of RBD Palm oil could be discouraged through enhancing its import duty from Rs 2000 per ton to Rs 3000 while the present duty structure should be continued for import of CPO only.