ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday directed the Ministry of National Food Security to take practical measures to arrest the current spike in food inflation.

With a view to fixing the wheat procurement targets and financial requirements to this effect, the food ministry had convened a meeting of the Wheat Review Committee in February, which was attended by officials from all provincial governments, and set a procurement target of 6.90 million tonnes.

The ECC, which met under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Asad Umar, decided that the provincial governments would get an endorsement of the agreed target of procurement of wheat. Sources said that the governments of Punjab and Sindh have so far not provided their endorsement.

Sindh and Punjab governments have failed to inform the federal government about their respective wheat procurement targets for 2018-19 crop season and the financial requirements for procurement, informed sources told Dawn on Monday.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has informed the ministry that it will utilise its own resources to procure 0.3m metric tonnes of wheat this year.

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On the other hand, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has requested for approval to procure 1.1m metric tonnes with the financial limit of Rs41.519 billion, while the actual cost of wheat to be procured by Passco will be Rs35.750bn.

For the past three years, the public sectors have procured wheat on an average of 6.104m tonnes against an assigned average target of 6.733m tonnes per annum. During the previous wheat season, 5.989m tonnes of wheat was procured by the public sector against the procurement target of 6.1m tonnes. Low wheat procurement was due to leftover stock from the previous year and slow pace of exports despite the provision of freight support.

According to details, the current public sector wheat stocks as of March were at the level of 4.4725m tonnes as compared to 7.287m tonnes of the corresponding period last year. Passco maintains strategic reserves of 1m tonnes.

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With a view to maintain strategic reserves, ensure food security and a fair return to the farming community, the provincial food departments and the Passco procures wheat every year at a minimum guaranteed price from the farmers. The existing support price fixed during the previous governments is Rs1,300 per 40kg.

Public sector wheat stocks serve the purpose of maintaining steady reserves and price stability, during the periods of lean supplies as well as fulfilling the food requirements of deficient provinces.

ECC asked the Ministry of Industries and Production and the Privatisation Commission to submit recommendations of the revival committee on Pakistan Steel Mills in the form of a summary for the final decision on the fate of PSM. Instead of privatising the PSM, the government is now moving towards its restructuring and may look for strategic partners in the private sector, according to official sources.

The ECC approved the proposal of Communication Division to provide Technical Supplementary Grant amounting to Rs500m for the construction of additional carriageway on Torkham-Jalalabad Road under Prime Minister’s Programme for Reconstruction of Afghanistan.

The ECC decision would benefit the people and business community of the two neighbouring countries and promote trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as the Central Asian States.

ECC expressed its deep concern over the increase in prices of medicines and directed the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to take practical measures to arrest the current trend of rising prices.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2019