Wheat export: Ministry to seek extension in deadline

Disposal of inventory needs more time, says food ministry.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research is planning to send a fresh summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which will seek an extension of one month in the deadline for export of surplus wheat by April 15.

The ECC had allowed export of 1.2 million tons of wheat by March 15, but so far no satisfactory response had come from anywhere as far as exports were concerned and it was unlikely that the surplus stock would be disposed of by that date.

A senior official of the ministry said they were preparing the summary to ask the ECC to extend the deadline before the new wheat crop arrives in the market.

He said so far only 70,000 tons had been exported and it was quite difficult to ship the remaining stock by March 15 because of a lacklustre response.

“We are seeking the extension in an attempt to export maximum quantity as there is not enough space to store the new crop,” the official added.

Earlier, the ministry sent a summary to the ECC, demanding permission to export the surplus wheat stock of 3 million tons, but the ECC gave approval for only 1.2 million tons with subsidy of $45 per ton for Sindh and $55 per ton for Punjab because of lower prices in the international market.

The ECC kept the export volume restricted to 1.2 million tons because of the subsidy cost.

However, the export process is so slow that so far only 70,000 tons have been exported, which has caused concern in provincial agriculture departments and Passco as well as among crop growers because of insufficient space to keep the new stock.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  7^th,  2015.

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