First PMEX Maize EWR, Container Clearance Issues, IMF visit Delayed, COAS Appointment, Russian Oil, G20 & China COVID/Property Policy

TOPLINE

• The first Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) of yellow maize was traded at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX), under the guidance of the SECP.
• Pakistan’s sesame seed exports to China surged to $59.09 million in the first nine months of the calendar year, showing a 50% growth Y-o-Y.
• 3000 containers have been stuck at the port in Karachi due to clearance issues. The FBR chairman apprised the senate committee that the food and cosmetics items in 640 containers are already expired.
• The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Sunday released 87,700 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 63,700 cusecs.
• Pakistan and the IMF have developed differences over the impact of the flood damages on the budget, causing a delay in fielding a mission to Islamabad for a review of its loan programme.
• President Alvi says he is mediating in backdoor talks for COAS appointment, as PTI sources claim the establishment is ‘on board’, and that Nawaz poses the final hurdle.?
• Ishaq Dar claimed that the Pakistan-Russia oil deal will come very soon. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said that the US is happy for India to buy oil as long as it stays below the price cap which will curb Russia’s revenues.
• President Joe Biden heads to Bali, Indonesia, for his first in-person meeting with China’s Xi Jinping since taking office last year with promises to try to keep the relationship from getting worse and to reduce the risk of war over Taiwan. Beijing unveiled an extensive 16-point rescue package for the struggling real estate market, just days after announcing 20 measures to guide officials as it eases its contentious Covid-Zero policy. The major policy shifts will likely aid China’s growth outlook.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• First EWR at PMEX: The first Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) of yellow maize was traded at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX), the country’s only multi-commodity futures exchange, under the guidance of the SECP. [Mettis Global]
• Food Insecurity: Industrial waste flowing into water streams is damaging crop yield, rendering it cancerous. [ET]
• Declining Agri Contribution to Smog: Pakistan produces around 14 million tonnes of biomass from rice crop crops, most of which are burnt. It can be used as raw material in the paper and cardboard industry or as biomass fuels in houses and factories. Lessons can be learnt from China and India. [Dawn]
• Cotton Weekly: Prices of cotton overall remained stable in local and international markets. Assistant Director Agriculture Information Abdul Samad has suggested increasing cotton production. APTMA has asked for the functioning of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee. In the domestic cotton market, cotton prices were overall stable during the last week. Business volume remained relatively low due to less interest in cotton procurement by textile mills. [BR]
• Seeds Export: Pakistan’s sesame seed exports to China surged to $59.09 million in the first nine months of the calendar year, showing a 50% growth Y-o-Y. [ET]
• Tobacco Export: Rs. 807 million was the export value of tobacco in September 2022, up 77% compared to Rs. 455 million in September last year. [ET]
• Flour Shortages & Inflation: Owners of mills and chakkis say they may not be able to meet demand. Chakki owners complain that millers are getting more wheat from the government’s stocks even though the chakki owners need it more. [Dawn]
• Illegal Logging: Four first guards were arrested for stopping a police vehicle full of logged timber. [ET]
• Livestock Loss: An estimated 1.1 million animals have perished after the floods, with more on the verge of death. The FAO has warned that about 6 million people can face acute food insecurity in 28 vulnerable districts of Balochistan, Sindh and KP. [Dawn]?

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Post Flood: Chief Secretary Sindh has been summoned in the Sindh High Court to explain the government's failure to concrete steps to redress flood victims’ suffering despite issuance of several orders. Pakistan has faced damages from the flood of $14.9 Billion and total economic losses of around $15.2 billion. The poverty rate may also go up by 3.7-4% because of this. [Dawn] [ET]
• IRSA Water Release: The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Sunday released 87,700 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 63,700 cusecs. 10,300 cusecs of water flow was recorded in Sukkur Barrage on Saturday. [PT] [ET]
• Pak-KSA refinery talks: Though the visit of Mohammad Bin Salman, the Crown Prince, has been postponed to the country, the dialogue between Islamabad and Riyadh at ministerial and experts levels has progressed to a reasonable extent for setting up an state-of-the-art deep conversion mega refinery of $10.50 billion. [The News]
• Containers Stuck: 3000 containers have been stuck at the port in Karachi due to clearance issues. The FBR chairman apprised the senate committee that the food and cosmetics items in 640 containers have already expired. The rest of the containers have mobile phones, vehicles, home appliances and furniture. [ARY News]
• CPEC Expedition: Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren said that all projects will be carried out on a fast-track basis. [BR]
• Winter Gas Plan: Trade and industry leaders in Karachi warned that zero gas supplies for four months will lead to a sharp contraction in exports, cripple revenue collection, closure of units and render many people jobless. [Dawn]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• COAS Appointment: PML-N leaders keeping cards close to their chest as most cabinet members have still been kept in the dark. Nawaz is said to favour ‘senior-most’ candidates, being aware of the need for balance after the controversies of Bajwa years. President Alvi says he is mediating in backdoor talks, as PTI sources claim the establishment is ‘on board’, and that Nawaz poses the final hurdle. [Dawn] [Dawn]? [Dawn]
• Imran Khan comments: PTI chief Imran Khan, who had accused America of fomenting a conspiracy to oust him from power, has expressed his desire to restore relations with Washington, in an interview. [BR] [Dawn]
• Delayed IMF Visit: Pakistan and the IMF have developed differences over the impact of the flood damages on the budget, causing a delay in fielding a mission to Islamabad for a review of its loan programme. [ET]
• KPK Health Scheme: 0.77 million women benefit from KP’s free health scheme under the Sehat Card with 53.5% of total users being women since its launch in December 2015. [Dawn]
• Remittances Drop: Inflows dip to $2.2 billion in October, down 9% over September and 15% of annual basis. Unofficial channels are thriving amid the widening exchange rate gap. [Dawn]
• IDEAS Defence Exhibition: The 11th edition of IDEAS to begin on Tuesday after four years at Karachi Expo Centre. [Dawn]
• Russian Oil: Ishaq Dar claimed that the Pakistan-Russia oil deal will come very soon. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said that the US is happy for India to buy oil as long as it stays below the price cap which will drive oil prices lower while curbing Russia’s revenues. [BR] [ET]
• SIndh LG polls postponed for 3 months: The Sindh government taking advantage of a clause in the SLGA 2013 have postponed the local government election in Karachi for 90 days. [Dawn]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Lower Freight Costs: It now costs $2,412 to send a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles, down from a peak of 12,424 in September last year, according to data from Drewry Shipping Consultants. [Dawn]
• World Food Import Bill: The FAO has estimated that the food import bill will rise to $1.94 trillion in 2022. [Dawn]
• G20 Pandemic Fund: G20 health and finance ministers launched a $1.4 billion fund to tackle the next global pandemic ahead of the bloc’s leaders gathering for a summit. President Joe Biden heads to Bali, Indonesia, for his first in-person meeting with China’s Xi Jinping since taking office last year with promises to try to keep the relationship from getting worse and to reduce the risk of war over Taiwan. [BR] [Bloomberg]
• China COVID policy: China issued sweeping relaxation measures on property and Covid controls, in the strongest signal yet that President Xi Jinping is now turning his attention on rescuing the economy. Beijing unveiled an extensive 16-point rescue package for the struggling real estate market, just days after announcing 20 measures to guide officials as it eases its contentious Covid-Zero policy. The major policy shifts will likely aid China’s growth outlook and add fuel to a market rally that sent a gauge of Chinese shares in Hong Kong up 17% in the past two weeks. [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg]
• Russia-Ukraine Grain Talks: UN chiefs held closed door talks that did not succeed with Russia officials on the Black Sea agreements on exporting grain and fertilisers, eight days before one of the deals is set to expire. [ET]
• Istanbul Blast: 6 people were killed and 53 others were wounded on Sunday when an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul. President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that “smells like terrorism”. [Dawn] [DW]
• Israel Elections: Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an official mandate on Sunday to form a new government and pledged that he would seek national consensus after an election in which Jewish far-rightists surged, drawing concern at home and abroad, in Israel’s most far-right government to date. [Reuters] [ET]
• US Midterm Elections: Democrats retain control of the Senate after key Nevada victory as the GoP leading the race for the house. The results amount to the best midterm performance for a sitting party in 20 years. [BBC]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• Karachi Biennale 2022 featured a host of art exhibitions with 26 projects by 45 artists from 13 countries that have harnessed the power of technology, time, arts and imagination by presenting new ideas. [The News] [HyperAllergic] [Daily Times]
• Pakistani film, Joyland, which has been nominated as Pakistan’s entry for the Oscars, has been denied to premiere in Pakistan after complaints of indecent and immoral content. [ET]
• Opinion - Getting Women Their Due: “Despite laws existing to protect the rights of women in matters related to inheritance and matrimony, why are many women in Pakistan often deprived of their due, forgo their share or struggle for years to get what is rightfully theirs? And what can be done about it?” - Tanzeel Hasan [Dawn]
• Opinion - The Long Journey: “The psychological effects of the devastation caused by the floods are more drastic among children, women and the elderly population. It is imperative they must receive psychosocial support”. - Rabeea Saleem [Dawn]