Â
June 21, 2010
Pakistan to allow two million tonnes of wheat export
Â
The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet is to allow export of two million tonnes of wheat in its next meeting at the request of Punjab government.Â
Â
The wheat export proposal was cleared in a recent meeting held in the Finance Ministry. However, formal go-ahead signal would be given by the ECC.
Â
With the export of two million tonnes of wheat procured at PKR900 (US$10.54) per 40 kg, the government has to bear a loss of PKR1.7 billion (US$0.02 billion), said an analyst. Initially, the proposal was considered in April 2010 by the ECC and the Federal Cabinet but the Prime Minister put it on hold until the finalisation of wheat production figures.
Â
Pakistan harvested a record wheat crop of 24.03 million tonnes during 2008-09. The government procured 9.2 million tonnes of wheat through Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) and provincial food departments.
Â
The break-up of the carryforward stocks was: Punjab 3.01 million tonnes; Sindh 0.27 million tonnes; NWFP 0.19 million tonnes; Balochistan 0.07 million tonnes; Passco 0.85 million tonnes; total 4.39 million tonnes.
Â
Later on, in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister's Adviser on Finance on March 9, 2010, it was decided that Punjab would maintain 2.5 million tonnes as strategic reserve, cost of which would be picked up by the federal government.
Â
The situation has been thoroughly discussed in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Agriculture on April 1, 2010 in the committee room of Minfa. The committee made the certain recommendations for the consideration of the Cabinet. The Finance Division would ensure availability of credit for wheat procurement, surplus wheat stocks from last year's crops would not be disposed of immediately as it would adversely affect the current procurement campaign, and the close monitoring of stocks may be ensured and necessary measures such as fumigation may be adopted to safeguard against any damage to the stocks.
