ECC approves sale of 500,000 tonnes of wheat at revised reserve prices

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Tuesday approved the sale of 500,000 metric tonnes of wheat held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) through competitive bidding at revised reserve prices.

The meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division, reviewed a proposal moved by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding disposal of surplus wheat stocks.

The ECC was informed that an earlier attempt to offload wheat at previously approved reserve prices could not be finalised due to lower bids.

In view of the prevailing stock position and rising carrying costs, the committee allowed the sale of 500,000 metric tonnes on a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) basis.

READ MORE: ECC releases Rs19bn for Ramazan package

Under the revised pricing, the reserve price has been fixed at Rs4,150 per 40kg for locally procured wheat and Rs3,800 per 40kg for imported wheat.

The committee also approved a Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) of Rs536 million for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects of the defunct Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD).

The amount will be transferred to the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for specific ongoing schemes in line with relevant legal and constitutional provisions.

Separately, the ECC took up a summary presented by the Petroleum Division regarding a fact-finding report on the Deed of Settlement with Cnergyico PK Limited.

The report was submitted in compliance with earlier ECC directions concerning delayed payment of petroleum levy.

READ MORE: Economic Coordination Committee approves technical supplementary grants of over Rs66.11bn

However, the committee returned the summary with the observation that a more comprehensive presentation be made at a subsequent meeting.

The meeting was attended by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, National Food Security and Research Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh (virtually), and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan (virtually), along with senior officials from relevant ministries and divisions.