Sindh has written letters asking centre to continue to pay the subsidy. PHOTO: INP
A high-level meeting was held in this regard in Islamabad this week, attended by senior officials of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance and Federal Board of Revenue.
Ministries of food security and commerce recommended to the finance ministry to further extend the subsidy payment deadline for wheat exports aimed at disposing of the surplus stock, which could not be sold due to high prices in the country compared to the international market.
The federal government has not extended the deadline since it ended on September 30, despite repeated letters from the Sindh government and the Flour Mills Association.
“The Sindh Food Department has written at least three letters to the centre requesting for continuing with the incentive of subsidy so that the province could export more commodity and compete in the international market,” said a senior officer in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
However, he said no request had been received from Punjab as yet and its representatives in the meeting said they would consult other stakeholders in the province before taking a decision.
The Ministry of Finance has suggested that if Punjab also wanted the extension, it should send a proper summary to the ECC for consideration.
The ECC had approved the subsidy in January 2015 at the rate of $55 per ton for Punjab and $45 per ton for Sindh for three months on the export of 1.2 million tons of wheat. The deadline was extended twice and it ended on September 30.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2015.
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