ISLAMABAD: After failing to sell 0.5 million tonnes of wheat through a competitive bidding process, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved a minimum reserve price of Rs4,150 per 40kg for local wheat and Rs3,800 per 40kg for imported wheat.
The ECC met on Tuesday at the Finance Division under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb. It considered a proposal from the Ministry of National Food Security & Research regarding the disposal of 500,000 metric tonnes of wheat stock held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) through competitive bidding.
The ECC was informed that an earlier attempt to sell the wheat at previously approved reserve prices could not be finalised due to lower bids received. Sources said the bids were lower than the anticipated fixed price set for the tender, which compelled the government to revise its policy by fixing a minimum reserve price and implementing a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) mechanism. The move was necessitated by the carrying costs associated with maintaining stocks of 0.5 million tonnes of wheat.
In view of the existing stock position and the associated carrying costs, the ECC approved the sale of 500,000 metric tonnes of wheat through competitive bidding on a FIFO basis at revised reserve prices of Rs4,150 per 40kg for local wheat and Rs3,800 per 40kg for imported wheat.
The ECC also approved a Technical Supplementary Grant amounting to Rs536 million for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects of the defunct Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD). The approved amount will be transferred to the Governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for specific ongoing projects in accordance with the relevant legal and constitutional provisions.
In addition to the regular agenda items, a summary by the Petroleum Division regarding a fact-finding report on the Deed of Settlement with Cnergyico PK Limited — submitted in compliance with earlier ECC directions concerning delayed payment of Petroleum Levy — was also tabled. The summary was returned with the observation that a more comprehensive presentation be made at a subsequent meeting.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan and senior officials from the relevant ministries and divisions.
