Tariq Khattak
ISLAMABAD: Prominent businessman Tariq Ullah Sufi has been elected as Chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA). According to the details, the 347th meeting of the PVMA Executive Committee was held at a local hotel to elect the office bearers for the year 2021-22. The Executive Committee elected unopposed Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi for the slot of Chairmanship. Likewise, Sheikh Amjad Rasheed and Sheikh Kashif Razzaq were elected unopposed as Senior Vice Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively. Other members of the Executive Committee elected for the term 2021-23 are Atif Ikram Sheikh, Mian M. Ashfaq Malik, Hassan Munawar, M. Muneeb Monnoo, Anjum Rehmat, Haseeb Ur Rehman, Nasir Saleem, Sh. Amjad Rasheed, Ehtisham Javaid, and Raja Abubakar Farooq. Outgoing Chairman Abdul Waheed announced the results and said that Sufi will be assuming charge from 1st October 2021. Speaking at the occasion, Tariq Ullah Sufi thanked the community for reposing confidence in him and assured to utilize his full potential to solve the problems currently faced by the industry. He informed that the edible oil sector of Pakistan, comprising of 137 units, manufactures 4.5 million tonnes of vanaspati and cooking oil to meet annual national demand. The sector is taking care of food security and contributing handsomely to the national exchequer in terms of duty, taxes, hence it has been placed in the top five revenue spinners of Pakistan by the FBR. Despite an increase in domestic production, a large portion of foreign exchange is still spent on the import of edible oil which is the main component of the food in Pakistan and is a key ingredient of household food consumption, he said, adding that many factors are affecting consumption of edible oil in Pakistan that includes international prices, income of masses, population growth, and urbanization etc.