The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday approved paddy crop 2009-10 procurement mechanism but without any target for procurement and allowing the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies Corporation (PASSCO) to intervene only when the prices of the commodity crash.
The meeting also decided that the support price of wheat crop 2009-10 would remain unchanged at Rs950 per 40 kg.
The meeting also decided that the support price of wheat crop 2009-10 would remain unchanged at Rs950 per 40 kg.
Terming the decisions of the ECC historic, the minister further elaborating the mechanism told the media that PASSCO would hire the services of rice mills for husking the paddy and then sell the rice through tenders to the intending parties.
"After the provincial food departments refused to procure paddy, the ECC of the cabinet curtailed the role of the food departments to certifying the paddy that the farmers bring to the designated mills of PASSCO," Gondal added.
"This is only meant to eliminate the middlemen from the paddy procurement exercise and to encourage competition between public and private procurement bodies," the minister said.
To a question about PASSCO's last year paddy procurement, the minister said, "Definitely, it was a bad experience as the Corporation suffered losses worth billions of rupees in the paddy procurement."
The ministry is expecting 6.3 million tons of paddy production this year against last year's output of 6.9 million tons, said the minister.
The ECC further instructed PASSCO to immediately set up paddy procurement centres in the key paddy growing areas in consultation with the concerned provincial authorities, said an official announcement released by the Finance Division.
"After the provincial food departments refused to procure paddy, the ECC of the cabinet curtailed the role of the food departments to certifying the paddy that the farmers bring to the designated mills of PASSCO," Gondal added.
"This is only meant to eliminate the middlemen from the paddy procurement exercise and to encourage competition between public and private procurement bodies," the minister said.
To a question about PASSCO's last year paddy procurement, the minister said, "Definitely, it was a bad experience as the Corporation suffered losses worth billions of rupees in the paddy procurement."
The ministry is expecting 6.3 million tons of paddy production this year against last year's output of 6.9 million tons, said the minister.
The ECC further instructed PASSCO to immediately set up paddy procurement centres in the key paddy growing areas in consultation with the concerned provincial authorities, said an official announcement released by the Finance Division.
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