Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan has said that the ICCI has established good working relations with the district administration for better protection of the interests of the business community and citizens, however, the issues regarding the price list should be addressed in consultation with the business community.
He stated this while talking to Administrator, Market Committee, Islamabad and Director Industry ICT Kamran Cheema who visited ICCI on Friday, held meeting with office bearers of the chamber and discussed matters regarding price control and improve delivery of goods in the wholesale market in the Capital.
The meeting was also attended by Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI, Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi former President, Mehboob Ahmad Khan, Ashraf Farzand, Chaudhry Nadeem ud Din, Khalid Chaudhry, Ashfaq Chatha and representatives of various markets. Sardar Yasir Ilyas said that the wholesale market was playing an important role in the supply of goods in the Capital, however, auction of price lists was creating some discrepancies leading to difference in prices. He said that the rents of shops in Islamabad are very high which also have an impact on the prices.
He said that a price list should be issued to every sector by taking the vendors of fruits and vegetables in confidence and steps should be taken to maintain the prices of essential commodities at a reasonable level to save the citizens from inflation. However, he was of the view that the imposition of heavy fines was not the better solution to such problems.
Addressing the business community, Kamran Cheema, Administrator, Market Committee said that prices depended on the supply and demand in the market and efforts were being made to improve the supply chain system to ensure delivery of goods in the market at normal prices. He said that cooperation of business community and the wholesale market was important for price control.
He said that efforts would be made to supply a price list in the morning in markets. Sector wise decisions will be made by taking the trade associations of various markets into confidence. He said that the development work remained to be done in the wholesale market while the sanitation system was being improved and the issue of entry fee will also be resolved.
Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI, Ejaz Abbasi, Khalid Chaudhry and others including market representatives also spoke at the occasion and hoped that the Market Committee would take the business community into confidence in matters related to price fixing and would make decisions with the aim to better protect the interests of the business community and citizens.
