Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation Limited (Passco) has decided to withdraw the payment of Rs 10 per 40 kilogram to the farmers that were announced as transportation charges on Wednesday. According to a spokesman of the Corporation, wheat procurement operation was going on in a befitting manner.
While due to aggressive buying by the exporters and hoarding, the prices of wheat rose beyond the support price fixed by the government. As a result of which, daily arrival of wheat at Passco centres reduced from 65,000 metric tonnes to 8,000 metric tonnes a day. Therefore, to facilitate the farmers' payment of Rs 10 per 40-kg for transportation of wheat and other allied expenses that were announced earlier have been withdrawn.
Since the government has ceased export of wheat and there was likelihood that the rising trend of wheat price in the market would be arrested to a reasonable level, the Corporation had decided to cease the payment of transportation charges, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, the Corporation has procured 1,182,483 metric tonnes of wheat, which is 90.96 percent of the allocated target of procuring 1,300,000 metric tonnes of wheat. While during the corresponding period last year, procurement by the Corporation was 1,053,705 metric tonnes. The Corporation had also issued gunny bags for 1,306,920 metric tonnes of wheat, which is 100.53 percent of the allocated target.