Business leader and former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Wednesday that as Ramadan approaches, the activities of the profiteering mafia are increasing. He said that along with the unjustified increase in the price of sugar, other food items are also becoming expensive, and ghee is among them. Ghee and cooking oil are becoming inexpensive in other nations, but in Pakistan, they are becoming exorbitant due to the powerful mafia.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement issued here today that, despite the decline in palm oil prices in the global market, ghee is being made expensive in Pakistan. Still, nothing is being done to prevent illegal profiteering. Ghee and cooking oil manufacturers have raised prices despite a bearish trend in palm oil import costs; therefore, an immediate crackdown should be carried out to discourage this mafia’s activities.

Shahid Rashid Butt said that the coastal areas covering millions of acres in the country are very suitable for palm oil plantations. Still, the importer mafia is an obstacle, due to which four to five billion dollars of palm oil has to be imported annually.

Pakistan imports 90% of its palm oil from Indonesia, while 10% comes from Malaysia. The total annual consumption of ghee and cooking oil is five million tonnes.

He said the government’s decision to hold trade association elections this year is correct, which we fully support. However, due to a lack of business community promotion, a group opposes it for its interests.

The government’s decision will help improve the overall business environment; therefore, it should be implemented immediately.

Shahid Rashid Butt further said that the IMF’s condition of disclosing the assets of government officials is correct, which will help in preventing corruption and improving governance. In this regard, the Civil Servants Act should be amended immediately, and the assets of the officers should be made public.

The IMF wants the public to know about the officers’ assets, their children’s educational institutions, their sources of income, and their wives’ assets. He warned that delaying this matter may result in a negative review and put the IMF program at risk.