KARACHI, April 11: Banks have agreed to finance purchase of wheat by the food department, government of Sindh, at 5.65 per cent mark-up rate against the previous rate of 9.5 per cent.

This was decided in a meeting with major banks called by Sindh Food and Agriculture Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi at his office on Friday to negotiate the mark-up rate on the commodity loans.

The representatives of UBL, MCB, Allied Bank, NBP and HBL attended the meeting and discussed the rate of mark-up with the minister and officials of the food department.

The minister said there was a need to reduce the mark-up rate for wheat purchases so that the money saved could be utilized for poverty alleviation and uplift schemes.

After considering the minister’s request, representatives of the banks agreed to reduce their mark-up rates to 5.65 per cent for wheat purchasing in 2003 from the 9.5 per cent recommended by the SBP.

Through this reduction in mark-up, the food department is expected to save approximately Rs220 million during the next fiscal year.

Arif Mustafa thanked the banks for their cooperation and requested them to provide doorstep service to the poor farmers and ensure that payments for wheat were made promptly.—APP