Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has called for building strategic reserves of basic commodities namely wheat, sugar, edible oil, ghee, vegetables and pulses to prevent hoarding and undue profiteering.

Chairing a meeting of National Price Monitoring Committee in Islamabad, he said the government will flood the markets with necessary commodities to bridge the gap between supply and demand to check price hike.

He said Pakistan has become the net importer of key food items such as wheat, sugar and pulses.

Shaukat Tarin said the current upsurge in international food prices amid coronavirus pandemic makes it imperative to build strategic reserves of essential Commodities to bring stability in prices of items of daily use.