Government asks CCP to speed up probe into suspected ghee, cooking oil cartel | The Express Tribune

ISLAMABAD:

The government has pushed the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to accelerate its investigation into alleged cartelisation in the vegetable ghee and cooking oil industry.

The issue was taken up in a recent meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) while reviewing prices of food items across the country. It was decided that the Finance Division would facilitate CCP in expediting its probe into cartel-like behaviour in the vegetable ghee and cooking oil sector and submit its report to the NPMC as soon as possible. The meeting reviewed the cooking oil price trend in compliance with directives of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) issued on July 29, 2025. CCP informed committee members that the inquiry into cartelisation was in progress and it would be completed in due course of time. Its findings will be submitted upon completion.

After detailed discussions, different decisions were made. It was agreed that the Ministry of National Food Security, in consultation with the Ministry of Industries and provincial governments, would prepare a plan to identify the measures to be taken before and during Ramazan to provide essential food items at stable prices.

It was decided that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would present a comprehensive report in the next meeting on loan disbursements to farmers for planting Rabi crops in flood-hit areas, along with district-wise details. Additionally, the SBP will provide a breakdown of farm and non-farm credit data.

The Ministry of Industries & Production, in consultation with different stakeholders, will submit a comprehensive plan to facilitate private-sector investment in cold storages for essential food items to ensure price stability through the strengthening of storage capacity.

Also, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration will give a detailed briefing on the increasing wholesale-retail price gap for essential items in the market, including the underlying reasons and proposed measures to address them in the next meeting.

The NPMC meeting was held on November 18, chaired by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal. Chief statistician presented an analysis covering inflation trends, the impact of recent floods on food prices, wholesale-retail price differential and national and international trends. He said that they focused on key commodities such as wheat, chicken, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and eggs, with particular attention to price movements.

Prices were stable for staples like wheat flour, rice, pulses and beef, but were sensitive for lentil, soybean oil, wheat, sugar, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea.