Business

Ramazan package: Ministry for purchasing wheat from govt’s stock

It wants to create space for fresh crop of the staple.

Peer Muhammad May 11, 2015

The food security ministry has bulk of the surplus wheat, which is in storages of Passco as well as the provincial food departments PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has asked the Ministry of Industries and Production to purchase 70,000 tons of wheat from the government’s stock and provide the subsidised commodity to utility stores under the Ramazan package.

The food security ministry has bulk of the surplus wheat, which is in storages of the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) as well as the provincial food departments.

“We have asked the Ministry of Industries and Production to purchase wheat from government storages, rather than from private sector so that it is able to create space for the purchase of fresh crop,” said a senior official of the food security ministry.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved the Ramazan package last month to provide subsidised household items to people and around 70,000 tons of wheat would be required in that regard.

However, the official said there was no proper response from the Ministry of Industries and Production so far.

At least two million tons of surplus wheat is in storages of Sindh and Punjab governments and the ECC has allowed them to export by providing subsidy of $45 and $55 respectively.

However, so far only 200,000 tons have been exported due to high prices of the commodity in Pakistan as compared to the international market, which has caused problems for the provincial governments in the purchase of fresh stock.

“This is the reason why we are disposing of the old stock as we have another bumper crop coming,” said the official.

The ECC has also given the permission to provincial governments to export their own wheat stocks.

Utility Stores Corporation Managing Director Dr Mukhtar, however, said he had no knowledge of any proposal from the Ministry of Food Security and Research.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2015.

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