KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Regional Standing Committee Chairman Ahmad Jawad has held poor negotiation skills of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) responsible for failing to find export markets for surplus wheat.
He apprehended that this would destabilise the local market and would lead to exploitation of farmers. He further said that ECC, country’s top economic decisions making body, in January 2015, had allowed export of 800,000 tonnes of wheat by Punjab at a rebate of $55 per ton and 400,000 tonnes by Sindh at a rebate of $45 per ton.
“Later, the subsidy was increased by $30. Up till now, Punjab and Sindh have managed to export only 252,650 tonnes and 164,000 tonnes, respectively,” he informed.
Jawad said that wheat had been infected with dust and germs. “This is the nub of the issue; after months of negotiations, as Pakistan looked to export the surplus wheat, it failed at the eleventh hour,” he said, and added, “If immediate measures are not taken, there are fears that the surplus stock will be wasted due to insufficient and substandard storage facilities,” he warned.
Jawad said that Middle East was an attractive market for Pakistan. “UAE needs over one million tonnes of wheat in 2016-17, which offers us a great opportunity to export our wheat,” he stressed.
He further said that since the wheat prices had plummeted in the international market, a large quantity of surplus wheat had been lying in the country and the federal government should look at different options to sell the stock before the arrival of the next crop.
