KATI for implementation of trade policy

KARACHI (APP): President of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Zahid Saeed has called for implementation of trade policy in letter and spirit. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said that the policy was announced for three years but the release of funds for current year was still awaited. KATI President also urged that for long-term economic policy making, a “charter of economy” was also needed. He emphasized that funds should be released for upcoming covered years in policy. Zahid also said that this is an old demand of industrialists to set a ratio of revenue collected form industries to launch projects for improvements in industrial infrastructure. President of Korangi Association further said that without providing basic facilities and resolving infrastructural issue, goal of growth in exports and economy could not be fulfilled.

 Agri experts advise farmers to take steps for controling pests

MULTAN (APP): Agriculture experts have advised farmers to beware of pests and take precautionary measures right from the initial stage of sowing to get handsome yield. Experts said that Pakistan stands fourth in the world with regard to cotton production and farmers can play important role in elevating our standing further up. Punjab is an important province as major part of the national cotton production comes from this province. Experts said that Thrips, a very small sucking pest, attacks crop at the beginning. White fly also suck juice from plants leaving them weak and also cause balck fungus like marks on leaf that affects food formation process. Aphid and Jassid also suck juice from plants and cause leaf shedding.

Dusky Cotton Bug and Pupae, both cause damage to crop while Mealy Bug suck juice from branches and leaf. Mites usually attack the crop in groups but their infestation reaches alarming infestation stage if not checked timely.

For non-chemical techniques to save crop from pests, farmers need to cut old cotton sticks from ground level and then plough the field to destroy their roots to plug chances of infestation of white fly, thrips and Jassid. Water courses and boundary of fields should be free from weeds so that pests could not feed on them.

Fruit orchards or trees near cotton field should be trimmed.

Experts said that farmers should have detailed knowledge on annual life cycle of white fly.

Farmers should apply pheromone traps to tackle problem of white fly and winged Aphid. These yellow sticking pheromone traps should be installed in the field within two weeks after sowing.

Farmers should consult agriculture officials in case they need to apply chemicals to control pests.

 Businessmen asked to increase interaction with Chinese

KARACHI (APP): A leading businessman and former president Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra has advised Pakistani business community to move forward and increase interaction with their Chinese counterparts for truly benefiting from huge prospects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “We, business community would have to step forward to reap fruits of CPEC, “ he remarked while talking to APP here on the eve of 65th anniversary of Pak-China relationship. He said Chinese companies were giving priority to Pakistani companies as their partners. The partnership between the two private sectors at Gwadar and other CPEC related projects had proved very successful.

He said China was Pakistan’s trading partner. Both the countries could promote their bilateral trade and investment manifold through diversification.

 3-day expo commences

KARACHI (NNI): Patron-in-Chief of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and FPCCI’s Committee on Fair, Exhibition & Trade Delegations Chairman Abdur Raheem Janu inaugurated 10th Food Technology Asia International Exhibition at Karachi Expo Centre on Tuesday. The exhibition showcases rice technology, plastic packaging & print and agriculture sector technologies.  It is for the first time that an exhibition is being organised with the view to strengthen Pakistan’s rice sector’s capacity, which, in turn, would produce better quality rice, and ultimately increase the export of rice. Major rice mills and other affiliated industry players visited the stalls from different countries, including Italy and Switzerland.

 Oil prices rebound sharply

LONDON (AFP): The oil market climbed Tuesday, rebounding from the previous day’s heavy losses that were triggered by receding concerns over wildfires in Canada’s crude-producing Alberta region. Around 1700 GMT, US benchmark WTI for delivery in June rallied 87 cents to $44.31 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for July added $1.43 to $45.06 a barrel compared with Monday’s close. “Canadian wildfires have been subsiding but the associated downdraft in oil prices appears to have moderated, helped by the possible supply impact of an outage in Nigeria,” said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets. Canadian authorities were focusing on restoring output after the fires that have raged for a week forced oil companies in the area to shut down operations, slashing production by one million barrels a day.

Prices had slumped Monday, with Brent shedding 3.8 percent of its value, also as dealers bet that new Saudi oil minister Khaled al-Falih could spark greater production from the OPEC heavyweight.

Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia unexpectedly replaced veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi with the close ally of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Saudi Arabia has stated that an oil freeze deal could only materialise if Iran partakes too, but with Iran on an ongoing quest to reclaim lost market share, expectations of a successful deal have been heavily diminished,” said analyst Lukman Otunuga at traders FXTM.

The changing of the guard came ahead of a meeting next month of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and followed a failure last month by major producers to agree on freezing output despite a global supply glut.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco, which could soon become the world’s largest listed company, will keep expanding despite low crude prices, its president said Tuesday.

“Saudi Aramco will continue to expand,” Amin al-Nasser told reporters during a tour of the company’s headquarters on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Coast in Dhahran, where it drilled its first test well in 1935.

Even though the current situation “is challenging, it is an excellent opportunity for growth,” said Nasser, as the oil industry worldwide reels from the recent collapse in oil prices.

Data published Tuesday meanwhile revealed that Nigeria’s oil output has slumped to a 22-year low because of pipeline sabotage and increasing unrest that has seen major companies evacuate staff.

Data compiled by Bloomberg indicated that output in Africa’s biggest oil producer has fallen below 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time since 1994.

Rebels seeking a fairer share of revenue for locals in the oil-rich southern delta are increasingly targeting facilities, posing a fresh security challenge for President Muhammadu Buhari.