LAHORE: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) under which the TCP will import 1.5 million metric tons of wheat to replenish the buffer stocks held by PASSCO.
This 1.5 million metric ton of grain is part of the federal government's plan to import 4 million tons of wheat to meet the deficiency in the country. Out of that 4 million metric ton, one million metric ton will be imported by the private sector, one million metric ton under Government2Government (G2G) arrangements and two million tons will be imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan under open tendering process. Out of these two million tons, 1.5 million tons will be handed over to PASSCO at the port of landing in the country while another 500,000 metric tons will be given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to meet its flour and flour products needs.
The PASSCO annually releases over 700,000-725,000 metric tons of wheat to grain deficient areas of the country including GB, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and to armed forces, maintain SAARC Food Bank Reserve Stock. The other functions include extending state welfare to farmers by providing support to farmers; stabilize prices by intervening in domestic market.
However, this year the Corporation will need additional 900,000 metric tons of wheat because of its agreement with the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) of Pakistan to provide it 400,000 metric tons and to KPK for provision of 500,000 metric tons of wheat.
The Corporation this year had bought only 814,000 metric tons so the additional wheat is being imported to meet its commitments, said PASSCO General Manager (Field) Major Muzahir Iqbal (retd) while talking to Business Recorder here on Tuesday.
He said that the Corporation has signed the said MoU and sent it to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan for inking the document on its behalf. However, he said that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) will go for tendering to import the commodity when the rates in the international market will be lower and favourable.
Replying to a query, he said that the claim of having a bumper wheat crop this year is accurate but Pakistan's annual domestic need is over 29 million tons due to which the government had decided to import 4 million tons of wheat to avert any shortage.
To another question, the GM PASSCO said that release price of wheat is not an issue with the Corporation as it is with the provincial food departments. He said that they release their grain at the rate they had bought plus incidental incurred on it contrary to the provincial food departments which release their stocks on subsidized rates.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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