Finance Minister Orders Strict Monitoring of Prices of Basic Commodities Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, chaired the meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) at the Finance Division today. The NPMC reviewed the price trend of essential commodities especially wheat flour, sugar, edible ghee, chicken, and vegetables during the last week. While briefing the NPMC about weekly SPI, the Finance Secretary apprised that prices of 09 basic commodities registered a decline whereas 30 items remained stable during the week under review. In compliance with the earlier directions of the Finance Minister, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics updated the Committee about data collection methodology and presented a detailed working regarding the disparity between wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities.