November 3, 2005	Thursday	Ramzan 29, 1426

KARACHI, Nov 2: The State Bank has increased the credit limits for major and minor crops to meet the genuine credit needs of the agriculture sector. “It has been decided to revise the indicative per acre credit limits of major crops as well as for minor crops, including orchards, to meet the genuine credit needs of the farming community. These revised indicative limits will come into force with immediate effect,” said the circular.

The revised credit limit per acre for sugarcane has been increased from Rs16,000 to Rs18,000, for seed cotton from Rs10,000 to Rs11,000, for paddy from Rs7,000 to Rs9,000 and for wheat from Rs6,600 to Rs8,000.

Minor crops would get credit as follows:

For ginger, potato, turmeric, tobacco (Rs20,000); onion (Rs12,000); chilly, maize hybrid, sugarbeet, tomato (Rs10,000); canola, groundnut, maize local, soyabean, sunflower (Rs8,000); rapeseed and mustard (Rs7,000), bajra (millets), barley, fodder crops (barseem, jantar, multicuts etc.), garlic, jawar (sorghum), lentil all types (Rs6,000).

For fruit crops (melon, watermelon and muskmelon (Rs10,000) and other crops as per cost (minimum Rs6,000).

“These limits are only indicative and are for the guidance of the banks. Banks are free to lend higher or lower than these limits on the basis of actual assessment at the time of lending,” the circular added.

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