KARACHI: Fire erupted at FFC Mirpur Mathelo plant site on July 3, around 11 pm which was extinguished immediately by adopting safety and emergency procedures (SOP). No personnel were affected during this event.
As per initial report, fire occurred in the gas vessel of ammonia unit. The plant was immediately shut down to investigate the matter in detail and plan the maintenance works to put the plant back in operation.
KARACHI: While Eidul Azha is fast approaching, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on Monday claimed to have set up as many as 88 collection points in seven districts of Karachi to collect the remains of sacrificial animals on the mega religious event.
“The removal and cleaning work will continue for five days from the day of Eid. It is estimated that about 72,000 tons of sacrificial animal remains will be picked up in the Karachi division this year. More than 24,000 personnel will work in the operation while 7,241 vehicles will be used,” the Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab said while inspecting various drains and visiting the head office of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board on Monday.
Municipal Commissioner KMC Afzal Zaidi was also present on the occasion.
The administrator said 41 major drains and 515 small drains are being cleaned and so far 3241697 cubic feet (CFT) of garbage has been removed and shifted to the landfill site.
He reviewed the drain cleaning operation in the control room and said that all the contractors cleaning the drains would be paid the bills after verification of NASPAK.
Sindh Solid Waste Management Board MD Zubair Chana briefed on steps taken for Eidul Azha.
Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that arrangements have also been made to pick up remains from house to house on Eidul Azha.
“Heavy machinery, vehicles, and staff have been prepared to lift the sacrificial animals’ remains on the occasion of Eidul Azha. Remains will be collected from all over the city and disposed of in a scientific manner,” he added.
The administrator said four collection points have been set up in Malir District, nine in West District, 11 in Keamari District, 14 in South District and 20 in District East, 15 in Korangi District, and 15 in Central district.
He said that all district in-charges have been directed to complete all arrangements in advance for the safe collection of remains and submission of data and sending it to landfill sites.
He said for this purpose, grievance centres have also been set up in all the districts where citizens can lodge their grievances regarding the removal of remains.
The final numbers may be surprising, but the outcome isn’t. The new government in Islamabad chose shock therapy, and the ensuing fits have sent the food price levels into an epileptic seizure. When you floor the brakes all the way down, sometimes you end up losing control. Now brace for impact!
National food CPI was already up 19.4 percent in the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year, before the monstrous fuel price shock came into wreak havoc. With HSD up close to 60 percent in June-22, N-CPI (Food) is up by additional 5.5 percent in just one month. Annual food inflation (12-month average) for FY22 at 13.5 percent may not appear a lot during once-in-a-decade commodities price spiral, but it comes on top of 13.2 percent in FY21, and 15.8 percent in FY20. Whether the planet is in a lockdown due to a pandemic or at the brink of a new cold war, the rise in local food prices has been relentless. And the tarot cards say there will be no mercy.
The food component of WPI and rural CPI rose by 7.7 percent and 6.1 percent - month on month - mocking those who insisted that ‘nothing’s worse the pandemic’. Turns out, living is. Both WPI and rural food CPI are leading indicators of what’s next to come. And with HSD prices raised another 14 percent just this weekend, the momentum is not losing any energy. Wholesale grain prices rose by 12.6 percent on average in just one month, vowing to whack the consumers left, right, and center.
From here on, it will take all the creative juices for those who have been vying for power to show they deserve not to be tossed out just as quickly. Whether its takes Dar or Candy-onomics, the coalition government must demonstrate capacity to work together and deliver immediately, because the lifeline consumers deserve a bail out. And if the spectacular mess (also known as TERF debt binge) has taught policymakers any lesson, it is not the size of bailout package that matters. Make it fast, make it organic, and make it impactful.
Already, there are signs that those trained in the olden ways are losing the plot. The yet-to-be crowned prince of Punjab has announced a two hundred billion rupees blanket subsidy on flour, pretending as if most - if not all - won’t be pocketed either by commercial banks or quota flour mills. And bankers shall make hay on ever more state borrowing for grain operations on peak mark up rates against sovereign guarantee. Yet, the supertax hurts!
There are better – nay, proven ways to offer effective relief. The structure for safety net is already there in the form of BISP/Ehsaas, and it needs to be expanded vigorously both in quantum and breadth by diverting funds from untargeted subsidies. Name it after Muhammad Bin Qasim if you will if it helps to bring consensus and sense of urgency to the decision-makers.
Two years since the pandemic, we are already in the throes of load-shedding. With monsoon around the corner, it may soon be followed by floods. Act now and act together, before – heavens forbid - the public vengeance takes the form of final plague.
It is promising to be a repeat of 2009, in an optimistic scenario. It could all get worse seeing how things are shaping. As expected, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) at 39 percent for June 2022 was the highest in well over two decades, if not more. For the fiscal year FY22, WPI at 25 percent is so rare, that you have to go back 48 years to see a higher WPI incidence.
And remember that the 39 percent is not coming off a low base either. The WPI had started to creep up around the same time last year, having reached 21 percent for June 2021 – a then high for over a decade. To put it into better context, WPI for FY21 was 9.4 percent. And it may well just be the beginning of what appears to be a painful four to six months in terms of wholesale prices, that is sure to feed into retail prices, with varying degree of lags.
The transportable goods expectedly carry the bulk of increase in wholesale prices, as petrol, HSD, and furnace oil have increased appreciably over the last month and a half. Chemicals and fertilizer prices have risen by over 50 percent year-on-year, with a considerable combined weightage. These prices are often found to translate into retail prices with a lag but even if the international food price spiral dies down, the next round of food price inflation could well be carried by uptick in fertilizer prices, and the obvious impact of transporting the same.
Electricity and gas tariffs are going to go up in phases for 1QFY23 – with an increase of nearly 45 percent year-on-year. A combined 11 percent weight can sure enough carry WPI increase to double digits singlehandedly, as it did for much of the previous such rally. The CPI at 21 percent for June 2022 is only the start of what is coming. And it would not be a pretty sight, from the looks of WPI.
Iran shuts offices and schools as sandstorm hits Tehran
TEHRAN: Iranian officials closed government offices, courts, schools and universities in Tehran on Monday after a severe sandstorm hit the capital, state media reported.
“The air pollution emergency committee of Tehran province has ordered the closure of all administrative offices and public educational centres today due to the spread of dust,” state news agency IRNA said.
Visibility was severely limited in Tehran, a city of more than eight million people.
The neighbouring province of Alborz, located west of the capital, also announced the closure of all offices, banks and scientific and educational centres, state television said.
It reported an “increase in the concentration of atmospheric pollutants and dust” in the air.
While the region has always been battered by sandstorms, dust clouds have become more frequent and intense in recent years.
The trend is linked to climate change and associated with overgrazing and deforestation, as well as the overuse of river water and more dams.
In April, Tehran’s Air Quality Control Society said dust clouds originated from “countries to the west of Iran”.
Iran’s western neighbour Iraq has been hit by severe sandstorms, with air pollution in recent months there sending thousands to hospitals with respiratory problems.
Iranian authorities also blamed sand quarries west of Tehran that they said are making the situation worse.
Tehran’s Metrological Organisation warn that waves of dust clouds are expected to sweep across parts of the city for the next five days.
SINGAPORE: Palm oil may retest a support at 4,267 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could open the way towards 3,900-4,090 ringgit range.
The drop on Monday confirmed a continuation of the downtrend towards a support zone of 3,592-3,900 ringgit, as pointed by a falling trendline.
The support at 4,267 ringgit triggered a moderate bounce, which looks like a pullback towards the June 22 low of 4,493 ringgit.
A break above 4,588 ringgit may signal the completion of the wave 5 and the reversal of the downtrend. Signals on the daily chart are a bit conflicting with that of the hourly chart.
Palm oil may stabilize around 4,588 ringgit
A projection analysis reveals a support at 4,331 ringgit, the 161.8% level, which is supposed to stop the fall the trigger a bounce.
However, there is no candlestick confirming a possible reversal yet.
Such a pattern, if it forms, may appear on Tuesday.
JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Tuesday for a third straight session on concerns that Indonesia’s plan to increase export quota would hurt demand.
Palm oil hits over 9-month low
The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 1.13% to 4,301 ringgit ($973.96) per tonne during early trade. It extended a 7.6% loses posted on Monday.
