Government pledged to provide full support to agricultural sector: Miftah

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail chaired a meeting of Pakistan’s Fertilizer Manufacturers Advisory Council in Islamabad.

The President was briefed on the many problems faced by fertilizer manufacturers in Pakistan. The main issues discussed during the meeting were related to the GST on inputs and outputs and gasoline subsidies, with a focus on the continued supply of subsidized fertilizer to farmers.

The Minister of Finance appreciated the role of FMPAC in facilitating farmers and reassured on the policy of the current government to provide full support to the agricultural sector for its growth and development. He further requested the competent authorities to develop a workable plan for the resolution of the problems faced by the fertilizer sector.

He was also informed that another series of meetings will take place in this regard with all stakeholders.

Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production Nadir Salir Qureshi, CEO Engro Fertilizer. Faisal Muzammil, CEO of Agritech. Asad Murad, COO Fatima Fertilizers and senior officials from Ministry of Finance and FBR attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Miftah Ismail also chaired a meeting on resolving issues of Japanese companies working in Pakistan.

He was informed of the problems encountered by the Japanese companies. Challenges faced by Japanese companies included the implementation of industrial policies, tax incentives for locally manufactured automobiles, incentives for companies located in special economic zones and export processing zones, cash margin requirements and supporting the development of a stable business environment for the automotive market.

The Minister of Finance, after thorough deliberations with all stakeholders, assured the full support of the government for the resolution of various issues.