Stock-building: PASSCO prepares for wheat procurement

Loans of Rs53 billion acquired to finalise logistics, finances .

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will procure 1.6 million tons of food grains in the upcoming wheat crop season from Punjab and Sindh on a support price of Rs1,200 per 40 kilogramme after the decision by the Economic Coordination Committee on Tuesday, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Procurement of wheat in Sindh will start during the last week of this month, while in Punjab it would begin during the last week of April in order to meet the given target given by the federal government, an official said.

Passco has finalised all logistic, financial and administrative arrangements to start procurement on schedule, he said, adding that the corporation had taken loans of Rs53 billion from different banks at interest rates of 1.25%-1.50%.

Last year, the corporation’s target was 1.6 million tons but it procured about 1.138 million. It had to carry forward a stock quantity of 0.995 million tons.

The corporation was operating 28 Silos (14 each in Chichawatni and Khairpur) and 283 storages to keep food grains. The corporation kept 22% of procured wheat in covered arrangements, while 78% was stocked in the open sky with relevant protective measures, the official said.

The corporation has finalised a procurement policy for 2014 with the priority to facilitate small farmers and ensure transparency in purchase. They would get 50 gunny bags on personal security and the corporation has fixed eight bags per acre of wheat. The bags would be issued on the basis of revenue record of the farmers. The farmers will not be required to visit the ‘Patwari’ for verification. The corporation will also issue a maximum of 500 gunny bags in one installment to one farmer on provision of deposit security.

The procurement of 33,000 gunny bags for wheat purchase is in progress as the corporation had received bids from interested parties, the official said.

The corporation has field network in two provinces with 1,250 men. Out of a total of 216 procurement centers, 205 had been established in Punjab and 11 in Sindh. The corporation has two centers in Balochistan as well, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2014.

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