Government in negotiations with different countries to export surplus wheat: Senate body told

Government is negotiating with different countries to export surplus wheat while Punjab government on Tuesday singed a contract with Tajikistan for export 5,000 metric tons of wheat. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan told Senate's Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research that Pakistan's wheat was of best quality and government was making efforts to export the surplus.
The committee met here with Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah in the chair. The minister said that in January 2015 Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) considered the summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on offloading/export public sector wheat stocks. The ECC allowed export of 800,000 metric tons wheat by the government of Punjab at a rebate of $55 (including transportation charges of $10/tons). The ECC allowed export of 400,000 metric tons wheat by the government of Sindh at a rebate of $45 per metric ton. The government imposed ban on the import of wheat products with immediate effect, he said.
He said that the ECC on February 9, 2015 approved export of wheat flour. The existing wheat stock in the country is 5.345 million tons, of which 2.830 million tons is with Punjab, 0.928 million tons with Sindh 0.219 million tons with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 0.113 tons with Balochistan and 1.255 million tons with PASSCO, he said.
Muzaffar Hussain said that the food department's godowns were still full with the last year stocks and in such circumstances how the government will purchase fresh wheat. On this, Directors Food of Punjab and Sindh province informed the committee that they were hiring private godown for storage of new crop. The committee also expressed concern over the delay in purchase of cotton lint by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and decrease in cotton prices despite purchases by TCP.
The committee recommended that in future the Senate Standing Committee with the assistance of Ministry of National Food Security and Research and Ministry of Textile Industry will determine crops size and conduct analysis of international price of cotton in the month of August and then recommend government intervention, if considered necessary.
Rizwan Ahmad, Chairman TCP, said that the corporation would ensure enough purchase of cotton lint if government permits it within time. He said that the TCP purchase 18,700 bales from Multan centre, 700 bales from Sahiwal, 5,800 bales from Bhawalpure, 31,500 bales from D.G Khan, 3000 bales from R.Y. Khan, 27,400 bales from Sukkur, 2,700 bales from Nawabshah, 1,500 bales from Mirpurkhas and 3,600 bales from Hala.
Dr Aslam Gill of Ministry of National Food Security and Research informed the committee that the prices of onion generally touched peak in August-October and start declining from December onward as the new crop from Punjab reach the market with ample supply. About the solution of sugarcane price issue in Sindh, the Minister said that according to Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950 fixing sugarcane price was the prerogative of provincial government and the role of Ministry of National Food Security and Research was recommendatory.
According to a document submitted by the Ministry to the committee, Punjab government fixed sugarcane price at Rs 180 per 40 kg and the same price was followed by KP government while government of Sindh notified Rs 182 per 40 kg price of sugarcane. It stated that on this some of the sugar mills of Sindh filed petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) and demanded linking of the price of sugar with that of sugarcane. Consequently, following the decision of SHC, the provincial government reduced the sugarcane price to Rs 155 per 40 kg which angered the sugarcane growers who staged protest and demanded of keeping the price at Rs 182 per 40 kg, the report said. The committee recommended that a plan be devised to bring uniformity in prices of sugarcane across the country.