Mansoor Sadiq

The government of Pakistan needs to devise effective and proactive policies to avert artificial shortage of any commodity amid rising inflation in the country, WealthPK reports. Oil Marketing Company Association Chairman Tariq Wazir Ali rejected the escalating fears about the possibility of oil shortage in the country and told the media that there was no crisis of oil and petroleum products in the country at present.

He said that the government would not have to face a shortage of any commodity and supply crisis if it improved the policymaking process and devised effective strategies. He said that the government needed to solve the issue of opening of letters of credit and the shortage of dollars on a priority basis. He added that the oil marketing companies decided to crack down with the help of government agencies on the hoarders, who caused an artificial oil shortage in the country.

Tariq Wazir Ali said that the country had a monthly consumption of 1.4 million tonnes of petroleum products. “All respective resources are being used to meet this requirement,” he added. He said that artificial stockpiling of petroleum products caused a shortage of oil in the country, but the plot was foiled successfully. He said that there were more than 10,000 petrol filling stations across the country and 1.4 million tonnes of petroleum products were used every month. “It is necessary for any oil company to keep a 20-day stock as its reservoir,” he added.

During the last two weeks, an artificial crisis of petroleum was witnessed in almost all the cities of the country as scores of filling stations stopped the sale of petrol and diesel owing to what they called the shortage and limited supply of oil. According to information gathered by WealthPK, the artificial shortage of oil was caused by hoarders.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk