ISLAMABAD (January 09 2004): Food Minister, Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, on Thursday said the federal government has directed Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supply Corporation (Passco) and Punjab government to join hands to supply wheat to Sindh to avert looming crisis in the province.

Passco has been asked to dispatch first pack of 25,000 tonnes of commodity for Sindh in next 24 hours.

The minister was talking to journalists after presiding over wheat disposal committee meeting, which was also attended by the provincial ministers for Food and their secretaries.

The minister said that he was leaving for Lahore the same evening for a meeting with the Chief Minister Punjab to ask him to arrange 0.1 million tonnes commodity for Sindh on top priority basis.

Rind said the federal government was fully alive to the province's need for wheat and it was taking all possible measures to ensure them smooth supply.

He added that Sindh Food Department's top management including Secretary, Amir Ali Burg, has been replaced and now new authorities were working actively under the supervision of the Chief Minister Sindh to improve the working of the department.

The minister was asked if any action was being taken against the Sindh Food Department officials who were allegedly involved in shady wheat deals with the millers and thus bringing bad name to the government claims of good governance.

He told a questioner that Passco has received 14 bids for wheat import in response to its international tenders floated some time back and now it would negotiate rates with those four companies whose offer was comparatively less.

He was confident that the negotiation process would be complete within a week or so.

Rind said "I have asked MD Passco to negotiate tariff with four companies, which have given lower offer to bring rates further down".

According to him, the lowest rates received from any of the bidders were $ 214 per tonne. On the question of floating another tender, the minister said that the government would review stocks position and wait for response on the Passco tender before going for another tender.

Besides negotiating rates with the bidders for import of commodity, the government has decided to purchase another 150,000 tonnes wheat from the domestic market.

The government is convinced that the private sector was hoarding around 0.6 million tonnes of wheat and if it manages to get released some 0.1 to 0.2 million tonnes, it would help the government avert anticipated wheat crisis.

The minister told another questioner that cotton production was only 4 percent less than estimated figure, and it was not something very alarming.

He added that some stakeholders were not giving correct figures as phutti (raw cotton) and lint prices were much higher.

On the issue of crushing and payment of sugarcane to the growers Rind said the government would ensure better prices to the growers and he was going to have a meeting with the mill-owners in Karachi on January 12 to convey to them the government's displeasure over non-compliance of its directive for fixed prices.

Courtesy Business Recorder