Paddy procurement likely to be delayed

Paddy procurement likely to be delayed

Sunday, November 01, 2009
By By Munawar Hasan
LAHORE
Procurement of paddy in the country could be delayed as funds for the purpose have not been released and contracts with rice mills not finalized so far, official sources confirmed to The News here on Saturday.
The Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has planned to launch procurement campaign from November 02, in Punjab with one-day delay. Sources claimed that due to the lack of funds and other procedural delays, actual buying of paddy could start in the second week of November.
“We are still awaiting the release of nine billion rupees required for the procurement of 400,000 tons of paddy, a senior official told this scribe. He said that around Rs 5.5 billion was needed for procurement of 175,000 tons of Super Basmati while Rs 3.5 billion was required to buy 225,000 tons of Irri-six.
Top management of Passco wrote a letter to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MINFA) a couple of days back for immediate release of fundsî, the source said. However, he added, no further communication had so far been made in this direction.
It is learnt that modalities for procurement of paddy from Sindh and Balochistan provinces had not yet been finalized due to opposition of growers regarding the procurement plan. “Unlike past year, Passco wants to buy paddy directly from growers,” sources said, adding growers were insisting that last year’s mechanism should be followed. This has created a deadlock over the issue.
An official of Passco confirmed that modalities of paddy buying from Sindh and Balochistan could not be finalized due to lack of consensus among stakeholders. He expressed the hope that all issues would be resolved in the next meeting due to be held on Monday.
On the other hand, farmers’ representatives complained that owing to delay in initiating procurement campaign, the price of paddy had been crashed in many parts of the country.
Basmati Growers Association (BGA) president Ch. Hamid Malhi said farmers were left with no option but sell their produce at throw away prices. He claimed that middlemen and owners of rice mills were buying Super Basmati from growers at Rs 750 per maund in contrast to official price of Rs 1250. Similarly, he added, Irri-6 was being sold at Rs 450 per maund against official price of Rs 750. He said more than lip service was required for stabilizing price of paddy in the market.
He advised farmers to delay harvesting of Basmati paddy in wake of the current low paddy prices.
As per decision of the ECC of cabinet, PASSCO will buy Super Basmati for Rs.1250 per 40 kg, Basmati 385/2000 for Rs.1000 per 40 kg and IRRI-6 at the rate of Rs 600 per 40 kg.
When contacted, a senior official of Passco denied any delay in the procurement of paddy, saying Basmati crop was not fully matured in Punjab. He said it was expected that Super Basmati would be available for buying from November 10. He said the arrangements for buying of paddy were being finalized and it was expected that procurement would be in full swing soon.