The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Minfa) has asked Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to sell 330,000 tons imported wheat in domestic market through open auction, sources told Business Recorder on Monday. In a bid to avert further losses, in case of pest attack on the stored wheat, Minfa has directed the Corporation to sell the commodity on the open market and for export purpose, they added.
They said that on the directives of Minfa, TCP allocated over 300,000 tons of imported wheat to the four provinces, but they refused to take the allocated wheat because of the local bumper wheat crop this year. "Provinces have already procured a massive quantity of wheat from local growers at the lowest rates and now they have sufficient stocks. Therefore, they have clearly refused to take imported wheat from TCP," they added.
Sources said that after getting negative response from provinces, Minfa has decided to float the imported wheat on the open market, aimed to scale down the losses and earn some revenue. "If Minfa does not sell the imported wheat in the open market it will soon start damaging in the TCP stores which will inflict huge financial losses on the government," said a TCP official.
He said that in a bid to avert further losses, in case of pest attack on the stored wheat, Minfa has directed the Corporation to sell the commodity in the local market for domestic use and export of wheat products. TCP, in line with the ministry''s direction, will sell 330,000 tons imported wheat, of which 200,000 tons will be sold on the open market for domestic consumption. The remaining 130,000 will be sold for export of wheat products, he added.
However, Minfa directives were vague as to what could be the process of things of auction which need clarification due to which TCP has not so far issued tenders in this connection, he said. Sources said Minfa has instructed TCP that 130,000 of wheat, for export of wheat products, should be sold in dollars, while remaining would be sold to the local traders or millers in Pak rupees.
The country has made its ever highest import of wheat in the last fiscal year 2009 to meet massive shortfall in the local market emerged in the wake of ineffective policies of former President General Pervez Musharraf''s led-government, they said. The country''s overall wheat import has reached its peak high of 1.058 billion dollar in fiscal year 2008-09 as compared to 860 million dollar in fiscal year 2007-08, depicting an increase of 23 percent or 198 million dollar, they said.