ECC Approves Sale of 500,000 Tons of Old Wheat Stock At New Prices

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to offload 500,000 metric tons of wheat stock held by PASSCO through competitive bidding on a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) basis.

The Committee was informed that an earlier attempt to sell the wheat at previously approved reserve prices could not be finalized due to low bids. Considering the existing stock position and associated carrying costs, the ECC approved the sale at revised reserve prices of Rs. 4,150 per 40 kg for local wheat and Rs. 3,800 per 40 kg for imported wheat.

The ECC also approved a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs. 536 million for PSDP projects of the defunct Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD). The approved amount will be transferred to the Governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for specific ongoing projects, in accordance with relevant legal and constitutional provisions.

In addition to the regular agenda items, the Petroleum Division presented a summary of a fact-finding report on the Deed of Settlement with Cnergyico PK Limited, submitted in compliance with earlier ECC directions concerning delayed Petroleum Levy payments. The report was returned with observations that a more comprehensive presentation should be made at a subsequent meeting.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh (virtually), Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan (virtually), and senior officials from relevant ministries and divisions.