ISLAMABAD (June 29 2009): The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has been instructed by the government to prepare a presentation on the reported cartelisation by sugar, cars, cement and milk cartels, sources in Industries Ministry told Business Recorder. These directions have been issued at a time when the government is struggling to bring down inflation, which would then allow it, as per the standby arrangement conditions stipulated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to reduce the rate of interest, thereby meeting a longstanding demand of the business community. Sources said that the government is closely monitoring sugar situation and its price manipulation by some key industrial players with the connivance of officials of the federal government who were, allegedly, involved in cancellation of sugar import tenders. They said that the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet is also flexing its muscles to grill top brass of the Ministries of Commerce and Industries for their reported involvement in cancellation of sugar import tenders, which ultimately benefited the sugar cartel. The responsible officials of both Ministries have sought the help of Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) Chairman Saeed Khan to deal with this extraordinary situation who is slotted to give a detailed presentation to the ECC in its next meeting. The ECC, in its meeting on June 15, 2009, had directed both Ministries to submit a detailed report to the ECC, explaining circumstances/justification for cancellation of tenders for import of sugar by the TCP in contravention of ECC\'s decision. On June 23, 2009, TCP Chairman Saeed Khan was seen in the office of Industries Secretary Shahab Khwaja and, in the presence of sugar mills representatives, chalked out a joint strategy to clear the apprehensions of the ECC. Sources said that TCP has also been asked to offload appropriate quantity of its stocks in the open market to bring down rising prices and keep a strategic reserve of sugar for this purpose. However, this would only be possible if the incumbent TCP Chairman is able to set aside the pressure from the top brass of the Ministries of Commerce and Industry. Sources said that the lobby of car manufacturers is so strong that no government functionary takes the risk of proceeding against them. For instance, sources said, when Abdul Razak Dawood, a former Commerce and Industries Minister, had threatened to take action against car manufacturers for charging a premium, the cartel approached one of General Pervez Musharraf\'s cronies and gifted him a fleet of cars, with the result that the issue was put on ice. An official who requested not to be quoted told this scribe that the CCP would give a detailed presentation, without fear like in the past. However, it would be up to the decision makers to pursue the culprits or not, he added. Sources said that CCP and cement manufacturers are already in litigation, decision of which is expected shortly. They said that CCP has rock-hard proof of cartelisation against the cement manufacturers, and a fine to be imposed is imminent. A couple of months ago, CCP had revealed how the Ministry of Industries and Production had protected the cement cartel and tried to take the CCP to task for initiating investigation against the powerful cement manufacturers lobby. The CCP in its annual report \'State of Competition in Pakistan\', had given an insight as to how the Ministry of Industries complained to the Prime Minister against the CCP action and sought intervention against the quasi-judicial mandate of the Commission. The CCP said that the cement sector has a long history of cartelisation with the first one emerging in 1992, followed by another one in 1998, and in 2003. Between November 2005 and April 2006, when MCA\'s case was sub judice and the government had facilitated the cement manufacturers by lowering excise duty, there was another spiral of cement prices reaching around Rs 350 per bag in April 2006. As an apparently short-term measure to rectify the market, the government subsidised cement imports--a costly and eventually futile intervention. Although the prices came down gradually over the next 6 months, from Rs 353 to Rs 195 in January 2007, in February 2007 they rose, quite suddenly, by Rs 60, to a new high of Rs 255 per bag. The government was under immense pressure from various business councils, management associations and the like, to compel cement manufacturers to reduce price. In the meantime, the MCA was replaced with CCP. All this changed with the promulgation of the new law. Armed with the aforementioned powers, which the MCA was lacking, the CCP conducted a surprise inspection on April 24, 2008 to recover documentary proof that had eluded it for five years. Surprisingly, taking exception to CCP\'s inspection of APCMA\'s offices and recovery of the cartel agreement (calling it an "untimely intervention" and a "raid," whilst it was neither of the two) the MOIP complained, apparently on APCMA\'s behalf, to the Prime Minister. On March 21, 2009, the ECC had directed the Ministry of Livestock and Dairy Development to investigate the reasons of rising trend in milk prices, which has substantial weight in essential items. However, the Ministry neither investigated the reasons of continuous increase in milk prices nor took any steps to bring them down. "ECC is furious over those Ministries which are reluctant to implement its decisions, and a special presentation on the status of previous decisions will be part of agenda of next meeting,"