Wheat Import, Reduced Fuel Prices Import, Debt & Taxes, Russian Oil Price Cap

TOPLINE

• The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) accepted offers for the import of almost 950,000 tonnes of wheat including 450,000 tonnes from Russia at the same rate of $372 per tonne.
• A Russian ministerial delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan in January 2023 for further negotiation on the commercial agreement on the import of petrol, diesel, and LNG at discounted rates.
• The federal government’s total debt (domestic and external) stocks crossed the unprecedented Rs 50 trillion mark by the end of October 2022.
• The imposition of multiple taxes on the banking sector has increased its tax contribution by 83% in the first half of 2022 as compared to the same period of 2021, hitting the profit growth of most of the banks.
• Ukraine said Russia had destroyed homes in the southeast and knocked out power in many areas with a new round of missile attacks as the West imposed a price cap on Russian seaborne oil to try to limit Moscow's ability to finance its invasion.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Shortage of Poultry & Eggs: Poultry farmers and traders fear that the supply of chicken and eggs may run out in a month due to the nationwide shortage of poultry feed. [ET] [ARY]
• Cotton Production: Cotton production has dropped by more than 40% mainly because of climate change and floods giving a nightmare to the country’s ‘financial wizards’ as the foreign exchange-starved country will have to import about 7 million cotton bales to meet the textile industry’s demand this season. [Dawn] [MG] [Pro Pakistani]
• Import of Wheat: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday accepted offers for the import of almost 950,000 tonnes of wheat including 450,000 tonnes from Russia at the same rate of $372 per tonne. With this, Russia has become the single largest wheat supplier to Pakistan this year, taking total quantities to 750,000 tonnes. [Dawn] [ET]
• Wheat Through Karachi & Gwadar Ports: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Monday has approved the lowest bids of two companies for import of 580,000 metric tonnes of wheat through Karachi and Gwadar ports. The National Food Security and Research Ministry submitted a summary on the Award of 7th International Wheat Tender 2022 opened on 30th November, 2022. [The Nation] [DT]
• GB Protest Over Wheat Shortage: People took to the streets in Skardu on Monday to vent their rage over long power cuts and wheat shortage in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Subsidised flour had almost vanished from the market as the federal government had curtailed supply to the region. [Dawn]
• Dry Fruits Import: Rs 1.1 billion was the value of dry fruits and nuts imported in October 2022, down 6.96% as compared to imports of Rs 1.2 billion in the same period of last year [ET]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Fuel Import at Discounted Rates: A Russian ministerial delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan in January 2023 for further negotiation on the commercial agreement on the import of petrol, diesel, and LNG at discounted rates. [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [DT] [KT] [Pro Pakistani]
• Gas Load-Shedding Balochistan Protest: Protest demonstrations are underway in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan against unannounced gas load-shedding. On Monday afternoon, people belonging to various parts of the city staged a protest demonstration outside the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) office in Quetta. The protesters burned tires and blocked the main Samungli road to vent their anger. [ET]
• Urea Sales: As per provisional data, urea sales in July 2022 are expected to clock in at 551,000 tons, down 4 percent year-on-year (YoY) but up 28 percent month-on-month (MoM) due to the Rabi season. [Pro Pakistani]
• Tractor Sales: The sale of tractors during the financial year 2022-23 may plummet up to 67% on the back of catastrophic floods, inflation. [The News]
• Sindh Abadgar Post-Flood Demands: Sindh Abadgar Board demanded that the department of livestock should ensure availability of vaccines and medicines for cattle heads in flood-hit areas and ensure immediate dewatering of the areas where large swathes of land were still inundated with flood water where Rabi (winter) crops could not be cultivated. It asked the government to waive off its dues for the Kharif and Rabi seasons. While farming activity was barely picking up farmers were being fleeced Rs 500 to Rs 700 on a bag over and above the already hiked price of the urea. [Dawn]
• Mangla Power Plant Renovation: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the renovation project of Mangla Power Station Unit 5 and 6 on Monday. The Prime Minister’s Office said that under the renovation project of Mangla Power Plant, 50-year-old machinery is being replaced with new machinery in all the units. [BR]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• Remove Imran Khan as Party Chairman: PTI claims no law bars a convict from being an office-bearer. LHC to take up PTI chairman’s plea against FIA summons in audio leak case today. [Dawn] [ET] [The Nation]
• Post Flood: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said that the total estimated cost of damages, loss and needs caused by the devastating floods is about $46.4 billion, besides the floods have raised the poverty rate by 4% pushing between 8.4 and 9.1 million people in poverty. [BR]
• Government Debt: The federal government’s total debt (domestic and external) stocks crossed the Rs 50 trillion mark by the end of October 2022. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central government’s total domestic and external debt stocks rose by 5% during the first four months of this fiscal year. [BR]
• Banking Sector’s Tax Contribution: The imposition of multiple taxes on the banking sector has increased its tax contribution by 83% in the first half of 2022 as compared to the same period of 2021, hitting the profit growth of most of the banks. [Pro Pakistani]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Oil Prices: Oil prices fell nearly 3% on Monday, following US stock markets lower, after US service sector data raised worries that the Federal Reserve could continue its aggressive policy tightening path. [BR]
• Pollution Tariffs: The US and European Union are weighing new tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum as part of a bid to fight carbon emissions. The move would mark a novel approach, as the US and EU would seek to use tariffs — usually employed in trade disputes — to further their climate agenda. The new framework is mainly aimed at China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter and producer of steel and aluminum, as well as other large polluting nations, sources say. But the plan would likely deepen divisions between Beijing and Washington. [Bloomberg]
• Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine said Russia had destroyed homes in the southeast and knocked out power in many areas with a new round of missile attacks as the West imposed a price cap on Russian seaborne oil to try to limit Moscow's ability to finance its invasion. [ET] [Reuters] [The Nation] [DW][ET] [Al Jazeera]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• Opinion: DISCOs and Price Hikes - “The rising costs of electricity due to the non-availability of the right kind of fuel is irking consumers. DISCOs are helpless as the whole process is under the government’s control. This increase has been triggered by long-term trends such as underinvestment in natural gas and clean energy supply, and short-term developments like reductions in natural gas. Such trends have prompted the government to pump up subsidies to protect business communities leading export-oriented operations against the financial strain.” - By Sara Danial [The News]