Wheat export: Punjab, Sindh want subsidy deadline extended
A fresh summary may be sent to the ECC for approval.
Total: 4m tonnes, is the surplus wheat in the country. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
As wheat stocks pile up, the Punjab and Sindh governments have asked the centre to extend the deadline for subsidy on exports that was applicable until May 15.
A source in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the provinces wanted the federal government to take appropriate steps to extend the subsidy deadline so that they could sell some of the surplus wheat.
He said the issue was being discussed with the ministries concerned. “The issue is under consideration and there is a possibility that a fresh summary will be sent to the Economic Coordination Committee for extension of the period set for the provision of subsidy.”
The federal government had announced the subsidy on the export of 1.2 million tons of wheat at the ECC meeting in January this year.
Sindh was offered a subsidy of $45 per ton while Punjab was given a subsidy of $50 per ton. This concession was aimed at bringing the price of wheat on a par with prices in the international market.
At present, the price of Pakistani wheat is the highest in the region and is the main reason behind the piling up of four million tons of surplus stock.
Despite the subsidy, the export target of 1.2 million tons could not be achieved in the last four months.
The federal government even allowed the provincial governments to export the surplus commodity on their own, but this mechanism also failed to deliver.
Of the four-million-ton surplus carried from the previous year, around 1.9 million tons are in Punjab, 0.6 million tons are in Sindh and the remaining with the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2015.
As wheat stocks pile up, the Punjab and Sindh governments have asked the centre to extend the deadline for subsidy on exports that was applicable until May 15.
A source in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the provinces wanted the federal government to take appropriate steps to extend the subsidy deadline so that they could sell some of the surplus wheat.
He said the issue was being discussed with the ministries concerned. “The issue is under consideration and there is a possibility that a fresh summary will be sent to the Economic Coordination Committee for extension of the period set for the provision of subsidy.”
The federal government had announced the subsidy on the export of 1.2 million tons of wheat at the ECC meeting in January this year.
Sindh was offered a subsidy of $45 per ton while Punjab was given a subsidy of $50 per ton. This concession was aimed at bringing the price of wheat on a par with prices in the international market.
At present, the price of Pakistani wheat is the highest in the region and is the main reason behind the piling up of four million tons of surplus stock.
Despite the subsidy, the export target of 1.2 million tons could not be achieved in the last four months.
The federal government even allowed the provincial governments to export the surplus commodity on their own, but this mechanism also failed to deliver.
Of the four-million-ton surplus carried from the previous year, around 1.9 million tons are in Punjab, 0.6 million tons are in Sindh and the remaining with the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2015.