Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday said that petrol prices are lower in Pakistan compared to most other parts of the world with only 16 countries having lower petrol prices.
The finance minster added that all the 16 countries which had lower petrol prices than Pakistan were producing oil themselves.
“There are only 16 other countries which have lower petrol prices than ours. They are oil producers and have their own oil,” the finance minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib.
He added that the petrol prices in Pakistan are cheaper than other regional countries such as India and Bangladesh.
Shaukat Tarin said that any further reduction in petrol prices would mean that the government would have to pay out of its pocket to fulfil revenue requirements. He added that the petroleum levy had also been reduced to Rs2 to Rs3 per litre from a high of Rs30 per litre in 2018.
A day earlier the government had increased the petrol price by Rs4 per litre to Rs127.30 per litre from October 1.
According to a press release issued by the Finance Division, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had suggested higher petroleum prices based on an increase in prices in the international market and exchange rate variations.
However, the press release said that Prime Minster Imran Khan had “decided against the recommendation and passed on the minimum increase in prices to the consumers.”
Meanwhile, while addressing the issue of inflation the finance minister also said that prices are being impacted all over the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This disruption from Covid has impacted us as well and international prices currently are at their highest level in the last 10 to 12 years.”
“We have been affected by that as well because we have become a food importer. We did not become a food importer in only three years but we are facing the consequences of inadequacies in the agricultural sector for the last 30 years,” Tarin said.
The finance minister said that the government has invested in agriculture to increase productivity and self-reliance. He also added that the government had taken measures to provide relief to the general public in the prices of food essentials such as wheat, sugar and ghee.
Commenting on the overall economic situation of the country, the finance minster said that the economic situation had started improving with its effects visible on revenue collection with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) exceeding its targets.
The finance minister further said that the government would present alternative formulae and propose that raising tariffs was not the solution during negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the power sector.
“I am hopeful we will have a constructive discussion with the IMF and we will come to a solution.”
