Punjab Food Department and Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco) will procure 15.5 million metric tons wheat from the growers from April 15. Managing Director, Passco Major General Saeed Anwar Khan unfolding the salient features of the wheat procurement said here on Thursday that about 300 centres are being set up at various 15 tehsils of the Punjab province and one or two in Sindh and Balochistan.
He said approximately Rs 46 billion loan will be sought from bank for timely payment to growers. "The crop will be purchased as per the policy of the federal government and all out efforts will be made to facilitate the growers to bring their quality produce to procurement centres," he added.
He said that special high-level teams would conduct series of surprise visits in almost all areas to fully ensure transparency in the procurement. The MD said that growers are always requested to bring only "quality crop" to avoid complication as Passco officials are duty bound to ensure procurement of quality yield.
He said that he would randomly inspect procurement centres to help redress grievances of the growers besides checking the arrangements. High-ups of the ministry of food and agriculture have said one million tonnes of wheat disappear every year in the country. Former Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Alhaj Sikandar Hayat Bosan while talking to newsmen here on Thursday revealed that 77 million people of the country are malnourished owing to rising poverty.
He also said that they did not know how much wheat was exported by the previous Shaukat Aziz regime during the last fiscal year. He said 77 million people are facing the food insecurity according to the latest estimates given by the World Food Programme. The support price of wheat was increased up to Rs 950 per 40kg, he said and asked how the government would protect consumers who had already faced a 42 percent hike in prices of flour in the last one year.
He claimed that if the private sector imported wheat it would cost Rs 1,077 per 40 kg while imports by the public sector would cost Rs 1,322. The Ex-Minister said Pakistan has to pursue active monetary and fiscal policies to deal with the global financial crisis, which is affecting the economy.
He said that the lack of financial innovation and absence of regulatory framework were the main contributors to the crisis. He pointed out that everyone is crying that the financial crisis occurred due to absence of regulations and market failure but nobody talk about the issue of macro-economic imbalances at the global level.
Sikandar Bosan highlighted the gravity of the situation by indicating that total liabilities in the banking system had increased to 15 times of gross domestic product. "Liquidity is beyond the reach of formal regulation. Now capital loss of banks has reached 2 trillion dollars. There is re-capitalisation of global banking system.
Despite that credit is not flowing as the policy-makers were hoping. Now it is the question of revival of demand. Monetary policy is putting strains until there is revival of demand. He indicated that the global financial slowdown is not a short-run phenomenon but its impact will be felt for long time. Long-run policy measures are required to tackle the crisis. Moreover, better co-ordination between fiscal and monetary policies are needed.
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