High Wheat Yields, Meat Exports, Remittances Increase, Election Politicking, Gaming Industry Rise, China-Taiwan Tensions & US Reaction

TOPLINE

• Wheat growers in South Punjab are reporting a higher-than-expected output of more than 50 maunds/acre, despite weather-related challenges.
• Rs 7.85 billion was the export value of meat and meat preparations in Feb 2023, up 59% compared to Rs 4.93 billion in Feb 2022.
• Pakistan's home remittances for March 2023 reached $2.5 billion, the highest in 7 months.
• Ishaq Dar presented a bill to finance elections in Punjab and KP while the ECP proposed changes to the Elections Act, 2017 to regain authority over scheduling polls. Moreover, the Sindh Assembly urged for synchronized elections, but the PTI opposed, citing a Supreme Court ruling. 50 years of Constitution Day were marked in a joint sitting of parliament where the controversial bill to curtail the Chief Justice’s powers was passed.?
• The gaming industry in Pakistan is predicted to generate over $200 million in revenue by 2023, with an annual growth rate of 9.77% from 2023-2027.
• e& (UAE based company) acquires majority stake in Careem’s Super App with $400 million majority stake.
• China has completed 3 days of military drills around Taiwan, including "sealing off" the island and simulating targeted strikes. The US and the Philippines kick off the largest version of their flagship military exercise in more than 30 years today — a high-profile display of their alliance that comes a day after China’s drills around Taiwan.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Meat Export: Rs 7.85 billion was the export value of meat and meat preparations in Feb 2023, up 59% compared to Rs 4.93 billion in Feb 2022, according to the PBS. [ET]
• South Punjab Wheat Yield: Wheat growers in South Punjab are reporting a higher-than-expected output despite weather-related challenges, according to a survey by The News and official data. Many farmers are reporting yields of over 50 maunds per acre, which is significantly higher than the national average of 32 maunds, indicating a promising outlook for wheat production in the province if the trend continues. [The News]
• Wheat Stocks Confiscated: The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) has accused the Sindh government officials of confiscating legally owned wheat stocks of small farmers instead of conducting raids on the warehouses of big traders, who are allegedly involved in inter-district and inter-provincial smuggling of wheat. The farmers complained that the officials were seizing their wheat stocks as "smuggled" and "hoarded" grain, in a bid to meet the procurement target. [ET]
• Experts Advise Approved Cotton: Agriculture experts have advised cotton growers to use only approved varieties of cotton seed to avoid facing huge losses. The government has announced a support price of Rs. 8,500 ($29.3) per 40 kg and subsidies for cotton seed to encourage its cultivation. [The Nation] [PO] [DT]
• Pakistan’s Cotton Arrival: Pakistan's cotton arrival declined by 34.14% in the 2022-23 marketing year compared to the previous season, mainly due to heavy rains and floods affecting the crop. Cotton arrival from August 2022 to March 2023 was 49,05,097 bales, down from 74,41,833 bales in the same period last year. The shortfall in arrival recovered slightly in later months. [FF]
• Gold Prices Surge: Gold prices in the local market of Pakistan have reached a new all-time high, with investors seeking a safe haven asset amid the country's ongoing economic uncertainty. The All Sindh Saraf Jewellers Association has reported that gold rates in the local market have increased by Rs 3,100 per tola to reach Rs 217,700 per tola, while silver rates have touched a life-time high of Rs 2,480 per tola. [The News]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• ML-1, Karachi Circular Railway: Pakistan on Monday asked China to expedite the process for implementation of the first phase of $10 billion Mainline-1 (ML-1) — the 1,872km railway track along with associated facilities from Karachi to Peshawar — and $2 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) as agreed between the two nations in November. [Dawn]
• 600 MW Solar Plant Funding: The Prime Minister's Office has directed the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to make Rs 930 million available through re-appropriation for land acquisition for a planned 600 MW solar power plant in Muzaffargarh. [BR]
• PSO Delays Kuwait Diesel: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has delayed the import of two cargoes of diesel from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) due to low consumption of diesel from legal channels, as smuggled Iranian oil has taken over the local market. PSO had requested KPC to halt the delivery of the two cargoes, each containing 50,000 MT of diesel. [The News]
• Sindh Flood Rehabilitation Project: The World Bank has rated the implementation progress on the "Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project" satisfactory, with around $100 million disbursed so far. The project aims to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure, provide short-term livelihood opportunities, and strengthen the government of Sindh's capacity to respond to climate change and natural hazards. [BR]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• Pakistan's March Remittances Soar: Pakistan's home remittances for March 2023 reached $2.5 billion, the highest in 7 months, due to seasonal inflows and an improved exchange rate. The State Bank of Pakistan reported a 27% increase in workers' remittances compared to the previous month, from $1.988 billion to $2.533 billion. [BR] [ET] [Geo]
• Controversial Bill Passed: The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 has been passed by the Joint Sitting of Parliament on Monday, despite protests by the PTI lawmakers from the upper house. The bill had previously been returned by President Dr Arif Alvi for reconsideration as per the provisions of Article 75 of the Constitution and it curtails the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. [BR] [ET]
• Money Bill for Elections: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced a money bill in the National Assembly to fund the general elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The bill, titled “Charged Sums for General Election Bill, 2023”, was introduced hours before the deadline given by the Supreme Court for disbursement of Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ends. [BR]
• Simultaneous Elections in Pakistan: The Sindh Assembly passed a resolution calling for simultaneous general elections in all provinces to ensure fairness and transparency, but the PTI protested, calling it against the Supreme Court's decision. MQM's Khawaja Izharul Hasan supported the resolution, while Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said they would respect those who follow the Constitution. [BR]
• 50 Years of Constitution: At an event held to celebrate 50 years of the Constitution at Parliament House, all three pillars of the state - the executive, legislature, and judiciary - vowed to safeguard the Constitution, which was also addressed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa. At the Golden Jubilee Convention of the 1973 Constitution, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presented four resolutions, declaring April 10 as a national day and the old hall of the National Assembly, where the Constitution was passed, as national heritage. [Dawn]
• ECP Powers for Election Scheduling: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has proposed amending the Elections Act, 2017 to restore its powers to change the date and schedule of the polls. The ECP Secretary has written a letter to the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary to seek the restoration of the powers that the ECP had before changes were made in 1985. [ET] [AlJazeera]
• Lahore's Master Plan 2050: The Lahore Development Authority has not finalized the Master Plan 2050 for the provincial capital, due to lack of interest from LDA officers and poor coordination with provincial departments. The plan, which is still in progress after three years of work, is said to lack a legal framework for crucial issues such as transportation, pollution control, health, education, and conservation of agricultural land, and may not reflect the ground realities of the city. [ET]
• ECC Approves $163 Million for Hajj 2023: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved an additional $163 million of foreign exchange for Hajj 2023 at the request of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony. The ECC meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, considered a summary on the utilization of Hajj quota and its financing, including details on the Hajj Policy-2023, the number of applications received, unutilised quota, and financial requirements. [BR]
• Pakistan's Gaming Industry: The gaming industry in Pakistan is predicted to generate over $200 million in revenue by 2023, with an annual growth rate of 9.77% from 2023-2027, according to industry experts. However, they believe that the industry is not yet reaching its full potential yet. [BR] [ET]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• US-China Shows of Force: China has completed three days of military drills around Taiwan, including "sealing off" the island and simulating targeted strikes. Taiwan detected jets to its east, while China said its Shandong aircraft carrier had taken part. The US and the Philippines kick off the largest version of their flagship military exercise in more than 30 years today — a high-profile display of their renewed alliance that comes a day after China was set to conclude its own drills around Taiwan. The annual Balikatan exercise will focus on developing maritime security and amphibious operations and will include live-fire training. Meanwhile, a US Navy destroyer passed through waters claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea in a show of force as Beijing conducted its military exercises. [BBC] [DP] [Bloomberg] [Bloomberg]
• Russia-Ukraine War: Russian forces pounded frontline cities in eastern Ukraine with air strikes and artillery attacks, while U.S. officials stepped up efforts to locate the source of a leak of classified U.S. documents, including those on Ukrainian counter-offensive plans. The Russians pressed on with their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region where several cities and towns came under heavy bombardment, Ukraine's general staff said. [Reuters]
• Egypt Planned Rocket Supply: Egypt, a major US ally and recipient of American military and economic aid, was preparing to covertly supply Russia with thousands of rockets for its ongoing war in Ukraine, according to a leaked top-secret Pentagon document cited by The Washington Post on Monday. [TOI]
• China AI Push: China’s SenseTime showed off a suite of new artificial-intelligence services developed with the company’s access to vast troves of data, including the latest rival to ChatGPT. CEO Xu Li showed off the large AI model SenseNova — described as “a supermarket of AI big models” for clients — and a user-facing chatbot called SenseChat. [Bloomberg]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• e& (UAE based company) acquires majority stake in Careem’s Super App with $400 million majority stake. [ET] [N] [PKR]
• Two policemen among four martyred in Quetta blast. [ET] [DT]
• 90% completed census data shows a surprise ‘dip’ in Karachi’s population. [Dawn]
• Google has restricted personal loan apps from accessing contacts or photos of users in Pakistan. [Dawn]
• ECP Sees Over 120 Million Registered Voters in the Country: With the 2023 general elections just around the corner, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday issued a report, stating that the number of registered voters in the country had exceeded 120 million – an increase of over 14 million in the last five years. [ET]
• Opinion: Selling Sand - “Indiscriminate extraction of natural resources, under the current economic development model, could render Earth unliveable if left unchecked. The International Science Panel notes that “taken together, human actions are undermining and challenging the fundamental processes that underpin a habitable biosphere and Earth system resilience”. It warns: “It can no longer be taken for granted that the planet will be able to continue to support human well-being and development.”” - By Jamil Ahmad [Dawn]