Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) in line with the decision of the federal government received applications for sale of around 300,000 tons of wheat on Monday with a view to empty its overloaded godowns for the coming wheat crop and also to stabilise the increasing prices of the commodity in the open market.
A senior official of the Corporation told Business Recorder that the wheat was being offered to grain traders and flour millers on ‘first come-first serve’ basis in line with a decision of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) to stabilize the grain prices in the open market and also to make room for the purchase of fresh wheat crop. He said that the corporation would be offering around one million tons and today applications were received as first tranche of 300,000 tons.
He said that they had wheat in abundance in their stocks and there was no disposal plan and this offer would help making corporation ready to go in to purchase during the coming procurement season and help farmers get a suitable return for its labour on wheat sowing.
He, however, said that one million tons would be divided in the grain traders/ flour millers’ equal basis of all the four provinces. He said that the stocks were offered at the rate of Rs 1100 per maund while a small portion of stocks from 2010 crop was also offered at the rate of Rs 1050 per maund. He said to keep it transparent the Corporation also ensured that one person could get minimum 1000 tons to maximum 5000 tons wheat.
He, however, denied any irregularity in the sale of wheat and said applications received today are being scrutinised to ascertain that applicants are real grain traders or flour millers and have submitted valid documents as demanded in the advertisement for sale of these wheat stocks.
Nevertheless, some people complained of being denied to participate in this sale process and some of them claimed that though around Rs 200 per maund subsidy was being given in sale of this wheat stock but it would not help stabilising the prices in the open market. They were of the view that the Corporation should have invited tenders and stocks should have been sold to those who bid higher prices.
