Wheat export policy to benefit mills

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Flour Milling has called for a generalised wheat export policy, favouring not only the whole flour millers but also general consumers.The committee Chairman Dr Bilal Sufi, while addressing the meeting held here on Wednesday at FPCCI’s regional office, asked the government to freeze the wheat support price at current level of Rs1300 per 40 kg.“In fact, the wheat rate should be cut down to the level of international rates to improve the almost stagnant exports of the commodity,” he demanded.“The export is not possible until the local wheat prices are linked to that in the international market,” he noted.Besides, he said, Russian states and India had snatched the Afghan market from Pakistan, causing a glut of wheat here.“International wheat prices are very low and the rates still do not become feasible even after adding subsidy,” he said.He said there was no way in sight to dispose of last year’s wheat stocks.“We have been asking the government to reduce wheat prices so that consumers could benefit from cheap flour, but it doesn’t pay heed,” he said, and added, “Punjab government should cut down prices to boost provincial consumption.”Sufi said the government did not consider global trend while fixing procurement price at Rs1,350 per 40kg.“As demand for the flour is presently not much, so majority ofmills in Punjab are closed,” he addedHe further said that last January, the federal government set wheat export target at 1.2 million tonnes by offering transport rebate from $45-55 per ton.“Despite extending date for exports, the aim to facilitate the millers as well as to earn foreign exchange could not be materialized,” he lamented.He said that Punjab was allowed to export 800,000 tonnes at a transport rebate of $55 per ton, while Sindh was tasked with 400,000 tonnes with a rebate of $45.Quoting statistics, Sufi said that only 247 tonnes of wheat was exported during July-December 2015-16, fetching just$66,000.“The exports dropped to 10,441 tonnes, worth $3 million in 2014-15, from 20,037 tonnes of $7 million value in last fiscal year,” he informed.He said that the government would have to lower wheat prices to dispose of last year’s carry-over stock.“In the last export policy, restriction was placed that those possessing minimum 5,000 tonnes of wheat would be eligible to export, and thus only big exporters were able to export wheat, who misused the rebate facility,” he recalled.“A small quantity of surplus wheat could be exported by the private sector despite attractive rebate on export,” he suggested.“Wheat continues to be purchased from the food departmentand sold in the local market whereas rebate is applied on fake documents,” Sufi elaborated.He said this practice not only caused damage to wheat export but also reduced 95 percent of flour mills, which were unable to purchase costly wheat, to a scrap.News SourceNews Collated byPAKISSAN.comCourtesy www.nation.com.pk