LAHORE (March 13 2004): The federal government, while approving the wheat procurement policy 2004, has asked the Pakistan Agriculture Storage & Services Corporation (Passco) to procure wheat to the maximum instead of restricting itself to the target of 1.4 million tonnes of wheat.

The federal cabinet which met with Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the chair approved the wheat procurement policy 2004, and directed the finance ministry to extend all-out co-operation, besides, releasing necessary funds so as to enable the wheat procurement agencies to achieve their targets of wheat procurement.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has already formed a committee, which would monitor wheat procurement process on weekly basis. On the other hand, Passco has been advised to compete with the private sector in wheat procurement.

Passco high-ups would pay frequent visits to the procurement centre to have first hand information so that necessary measures could be adopted for the removal of irritants in wheat procurement operation.

According to estimates, 150,000 tonnes of wheat will be procured from Sindh province, 30,000 tonnes from Balochistan and 1.22 million tonnes of wheat would be procured from Punjab.

Passco has made all necessary arrangements for wheat procurement and in this regard it has established more than double wheat procurement centres as compared with the last year.

In Sindh, all is set for wheat procurement and Bardana have also been provided at the procurement centres as wheat crop is likely to arrive within next ten days.

However, in Punjab, 75 percent arrangements have been finalised because wheat is expected to arrive in mid of April.

Federal Minister for Agriculture and Food, Sardar Yar Muhammad Khan Rind pursuant to the Prime Minister's directions visited the Passco head office and held a meeting with Managing Director Passco Major General Faheem Akhtar Khan.

The meeting was also attended by Federal Secretary Food and Agriculture Salik Nazir Ahmad and General Manager Passco Major Chaudhry Muhammad Akram (Retd).

After the meeting, responding to news items about writing of letter by Australian Prime Minister for testing Australian wheat by third country, the Food Minister said the Australian government has no concern with the wheat laboratory test because it was a contractual obligation between the Passoc and wheat-importing firm.

Wheat testing in Pakistan was a part of the agreement and the consignment was declined, as it did not fulfil the required specification, he added.

Pakistan has two-grain quality testing laboratories one each in Karachi and Islamabad.

These laboratories, which were established under the special directions of President General Pervez Musharraf, have modern and state-of-art equipment. It is pertinent to mention that none of the country in this region has such laboratories with equipment available here, he maintained.

He further said that Pakistan's population is rapidly increasing, hence the country would have required additional 400,000 tonnes of wheat annually.

We have achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production only once during 2001-02 otherwise Pakistan was a deficit country in wheat production, he maintained. In order to get rid of wheat shortage, 82,000 water channels would be cemented to improve agriculture production. Besides, wheat support price has been increased to Rs 350 per 40 kg.

Though the support price needs to be revised every year we would have to take into consideration the interest of 30 percent poor labour class, which could not afford high wheat price, he maintained.

To a question, the Minister said we are trying to implement idea of corporate farming and foreign companies are being invited to invest in this vital sector.

Though we did not receive encouraging results yet we would continue to try on this direction.

The relevant laws have also to be amended to get desired results, he further said. Expressing optimism of good yield of wheat during this year, the Minister said we expect surplus wheat production this year.

Meanwhile, General Manager Passco Major Chaudhry Muhammad Akram (Retd) told Business Recorder that Pakistan was importing around two million tonnes of wheat, which was never tested in any laboratory and the whole consignments were being used as it were.

It is first time in the Pakistan's history that importing wheat was tested in laboratories and after having found below the specification, the entire consignment was rejected. Even our authorities did not allow the entry of wheat loaded ship in Pakistan's seawater.

Courtesy Business Recorder