Doubts expressed about TCP’s ability to handle rice trade
December 04, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Engaging TCP in rice trade will be a recipe for disaster, as both the state owned procuring agencies PASSCO and TCP would suffer heavy losses for non-availability of infrastructure, an official said expressing fears on the development.
Ministry of Food & Agriculture on Wednesday decided that Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would purchase half a million tonnes of the commodity from the open market said an official announcement.
The TCP had never remained in rice business and also had no infrastructure for storing the tendered commodity from the open market as the Corporation is already engaged in three major commodities namely wheat, cotton and urea, an official who wished not to disclose his identity told this correspondent over the decision of the MINFAL.
“It will be a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer from both sides. Firstly, the incidental incurred on paddy procurement by PASSCO through rice millers and secondly its purchase by the TCP for its storage,” the same official added.
The TCP has not so far received the official communication which has been decided at Islamabad for rice purchase, said another official of the Corporation, who is not authorized to speak with media told this correspondent from Karachi, adding that likewise of other commodities, the corporation will execute what it received from Islamabad.
Official spokesman of the TCP was not available for comments after repeated attempts to get their side of the story as his cell phone was off till the filing of this report.
It has been decided in a meeting here on Wednesday (today) held under Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Gondal that Trading Corporation of Pakistan(TCP) will purchase 0.5 million tonnes of rice from open market, says an official announcement released here after the meeting at B block.
For this purpose TCP will immediately float a tender of 0.2 million tonnes of Irri-6 and KS-282 and
0.1 million tonnes of super basmati, it added.
The TCP will use storage facilities of the successful rice mills on the same pattern as was done in the case of purchase of sugar or any other alternate arrangement, said the statement. It is decided that Ministry of Commerce will expedite the finalization of three MoUs for the export of rice to Philippines and Indonesia if it is processing, it said.
The statement further said that the PASSCO was asked to expedite supplying 150,000 tonnes of rice to Ivory Coast as per their demand as early as possible.
The PASSCO through rice mills has so far contracted over 100,000 tonnes of paddy but the payment had not been made to the growers. Under the agreement between PASSCO and rice millers, the paddy after processing will be returned to the PASSCO either selling it to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) for its countrywide outlets or its export by the PASSCO itself.