KCA Spot Rate, Pulses & Edible Oil Stuck at Port, Gas Tariff, Vote of Confidence, Pakistan’s Economy, Russia-Ukraine War

TOPLINE

• Karachi Cotton Association increased the spot rate by Rs 1500 per maund and closed it at Rs 19,500 per maund.
• Open market price of flour has reached Rs150 per kg in Karachi. Moreover, the Punjab Food Department has released 26,000 metric tonnes of wheat to 970 flour mills in the province.
• 6000 containers of pulses have been stuck at the ports, while edible oil too, has started disappearing from the market as importers struggle to pay for cargo amid dollar shortage and unofficial NTFs imposed by the authorities.
• The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has increased the gas tariff for consumers of Sui Gas companies by up to 74%, effective from July 2022.
• CM Punjab refuses to take vote of confidence, LHC to take up his plea today. Opposition lambasts CM over ‘failure’ to show majority.
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said it could increase its investments in Pakistan to $10 billion, while the US has assured that it would continue to support Islamabad's efforts to strengthen the economy after last year’s devastating floods. Moreover, the World Bank has forecast Pakistan’s economic growth to slow further to 2% during the current year.
• Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the small salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by mercenary forces.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Spot Rate: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) on Tuesday increased the spot rate by Rs 1500 per maund and closed it at Rs 19,500 per maund. The local cotton market remained bullish and the trading volume remained satisfactory. [BR]
• Prices of Flour in Sindh: Open market price of commodities has reached Rs150 per kg in the city. 600,000 10-kg bags being supplied daily on subsidized rates. Sharjeel says govt to ban inter-provincial transportation of wheat. [Dawn] [ET] [PO]
• Pulses Containers Stuck at Port: 6000 containers of pulses have been stuck at the ports due to shortage of dollars in the country.? Shipping companies have collected $48 million in detention charges from importers on these stranded containers. If these containers are not released, a new crisis will arise in the supply and prices of pulses in the month of Ramadan. [ET]
• Edible Oil Imports: Edible oil has started disappearing from the market as importers struggle to pay for cargo stuck at the port amid a dollar shortage in the country and unofficial non-tariff barrier (NTFs) imposed by the authorities, industry officials said on Tuesday. [The News]
• Wheat Releases for Flour Mills: The Punjab Food Department has released 26,000 metric tonnes of wheat to 970 flour mills in the province. According to the data 5,995 metric tons of wheat quota has been released to Rawalpindi division, 1,919 metric tons to Gujranwala division and 1,336 metric tons to Gujrat division. The Lahore division has released 7,302 metric tonnes of wheat, Faisalabad division 2,641 metric tonnes, Sargodha division 1,072 and Multan division 1,811 metric tonnes. [Dunya] [PO]
• Wheat Sale Points in Multan: Local authorities set up 59 wheat sale points on Tuesday to supply the commodity to the public at reasonable rates. Special checking teams headed by Assistant Commissioners were formed to monitor smooth supply to consumers from all points, according to a press release issued. [UP]
• Sugar Export: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided that in case of an increase in sugar price in the domestic market, the export of allowed 150,000 MT sugar would be discontinued. [BR]
• Steel Prices: The prices of steel rebars rose to an all-time level of Rs 235,000 per metric ton due to shortage of raw material.? All leading steel rebars producers, on Tuesday, have announced to increase the price due to exchange rate volatility and shortage of raw material as banks are not opening LCs. [BR]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Cold Weather Forecast: The minimum temperature in Karachi may drop to five to seven degrees Celsius from the night between Wednesday and Thursday under the influence of Siberian winds affecting the whole region, the Met department stated in its advisory on Tuesday. [Dawn] [ET]
• Gas Tariff Hike: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Wednesday increased the gas tariff for consumers of two Sui Gas companies by up to 74 percent for household consumers, commercial sector, roti tandoors, captive power plants and general industries, including export-oriented sector, effective from July 2022. [ET] [The News]
• Post-Flood: Donors from around the world have pledged more than $9bn (￡7.4 billion) to help Pakistan recover from the devastating floods that hit the country last year. It amounts to more than half of the estimated $16.3 billion Pakistan needs to recover from the disaster. Last year's floods killed at least 1,700 people, displaced eight million more and destroyed infrastructure. [Dawn] [The Guardian] [BBC] [Reuters] [Al Jazeera]
• Water Contamination: According to a new report by the UN Children’s Fund, at least four million children in Pakistan are living in close proximity to contaminated and stagnant floodwater, exposing them to waterborne diseases as a result. With the winter season in full swing, such areas are experiencing extremely low temperatures that come with a host of problems of their own. Polluted water was always a pressing issue for us but over time, the stakes have increased. [The Nation]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• KSA Boosting Investment in Pakistan: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) said it could increase its investments in the cash-strapped Pakistan economy to $10 billion, the Saudi state news agency reported on Tuesday, as well as increase the ceiling on deposits into the Pakistan central bank to $5 billion. [BR] [Dawn] [Reuters] [NDTV]
• Pakistan’s GDP Growth: Warning of another global recession, the World Bank on Tuesday forecast Pakistan’s economic growth to slow further to two per cent during the current year — down by two percentage points from its June 2022 estimate — because of the devastating floods and slowdown in global growth rate. [Dawn] [ET] [Geo]
• Pak-US Relations: The United States has assured Pakistan that it would continue to support Islamabad’s efforts to strengthen its economy and deal with the consequences of last year’s devastating floods. [Dawn]
• Crackdown Against Afghan Migrants: About 250,000 Afghan asylum seekers have arrived in Pakistan since August 2021, but a migrant crackdown has left many of them in fear of being jailed or deported. On Saturday, 302 people were sent back to Afghanistan from Sindh province and 303 on Monday, including 63 women and 71 children. A further 800 people are expected to be deported in the coming days. [The Guardian]
• PM to Visit UAE Tomorrow: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from January 12 to 13, 2023 at the invitation of the UAE’s President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. An official of the Prime Minister’s Office said that Shehbaz Sharif was expected to leave for the UAE on Thursday. [BR]
• Vote of Confidence: CM refuses to take vote of confidence, LHC to take up his plea today. Opposition lambasts CM over ‘failure’ to show majority. Shoe hurled at Rana Sanaullah’s vehicle. Fawad claims PTI MPAs ‘being offered bribes’. [Dawn]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Growth Gloom: The World Bank slashes growth forecasts for most countries and regions, and warned that new adverse shocks could tip the global economy into a recession. Global gross domestic product will probably increase 1.7% this year, about half the pace forecast in June, the Washington-based lender said Tuesday. That would be the third-worst performance in the last three decades or so, after the contractions of 2009 and 2020. [Bloomberg]
• Oil Prices: Oil prices climbed marginally on Tuesday as the US government forecast record global petroleum consumption next year and as the dollar hovered at seven-month lows. Brent futures rose 75 cents, 0.9%, to $80.40 a barrel by 12:27 p.m. ET (1727 GMT), while US crude gained 80 cents, or 1.1%, at $75.45 per barrel. [BR]
• Russia-Ukraine War: Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the small salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by mercenary forces, officials in Kyiv said. [Dawn]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• Opinion: The Rise of the Chicken Crisis - “The rate of chicken has reached a historic high! “Are chicken prices ever going to come down?” “What is happening in this country? These are some of the many questions going over everyone’s mind. Day by day, we are witnessing a massive increase in chicken prices. In comparison to the same time last year, the price was a little over 350 Rs/kg. Now it has crossed 550 Rs/Kg (might be even more by the time you will be reading this). What may be the source of this anomaly?” - By Muhammad Salman Sabir [BR]