FAP urges government to sell surplus wheat and rice

Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) has called upon the government to sell surplus wheat and rice worth $5 billion to overcome the financial crunch instead of borrowing from the World Bank and IMF on dictatorial terms at the risk of national interest.
Talking to Business Recorder here on Sunday Director and Chief Co-ordinator FAP Tariq Bucha said that surplus reserves of wheat and Basmati rice worth $5 billion are in the government and Passco's storages. Wheat surplus stock of 4.5 million tons is worth four billion dollars and surplus stocks of 0.8 million tons rice are worth 1 billion dollars.
He claimed that the so-called economic planners and wizards have restrained government to sell these surplus commodities in the international market on flimsy grounds of the government having to subsidise around 200-300 billion rupees.
He said our policy makers/leaders tend to ignore and forget the finance cost of holding the surplus wheat and rice stocks thereby blocking liquidity of the banks extending this credit line. These carried over stocks will further create problems at the procurement of new wheat crop in 2011 when banks will have no liquidity available to extend further credit.
FAP Chief Co-ordinator said the agronomists and farmers fail to understand as to why government financial managers resort to credit card like loan policies to borrow and not sell surplus stocks, earning most valuable foreign exchange thereby avoid to beg for more loans at the dictatorial terms of IMF and World Bank, perhaps it requires more effort to sell as against the easy path of borrowing.
FAP strongly resented the recent increase in price of petroleum products and uncalled for exploitative raise in the prices of electricity. Dr Bucha said the recent increase in the price of diesel would cause an extra burden of Rs 10 billion on the farmers of Pakistan who are major consumers of diesel for tractors and tubewells.
He said farmers fail to understand the motive and agenda of government as only in Punjab, farmers consume 2.25 billion litres of diesel annually for cultivation and irrigation through 800,000 tubewells. As per Irsa, 4.215 MAF less water will be available for Rabi crops thus farmers will be forced to use tubewells to irrigate important Rabi crops like wheat, canola etc.
He said, whereas the government should have adopted a positive strategy to counter the adverse circumstances in the post flood scenario to ensure rehabilitation of the farmers being 75 percent of the population, they have adopted negative policies which will be detrimental not only for the farmers but catastrophic for the food security and economy of the country.
It seems the economists of our country have become totally oblivious of the importance of agriculture sector which can only help in reviving Pakistan economy in shortest possible timeframe of 6 months, Bucha argued.