SBP to launch e-warehouse receipt financing today

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will launch electronic warehouse receipt financing (EWRF) for maize crop today (Tuesday) to provide farmers with an adequate facility to store their produce, and also address their liquidity requirement, the central bank stated.

The facility will be launched in Tehsil Chunian, District Kasur. At the event, banks will be signing their system usage agreements with Naymat Collateral Management Company Ltd. (NCMCL) to commence operations under the newly developed system. “This mechanism will not only provide farmers with an adequate facility to store their produce, but also address their liquidity requirement as these receipts will be used as a collateral to avail financing from banks,” the SBP said in a statement.

“The warehouse receipts will be issued by approved collateral management companies in arrangement with their accredited storage facility operators. The value of stored harvest will be assessed and marked on the electronically issued warehouse receipts, which can then be used to avail financing from banks,” it added.

Through this initiative, the SBP aims to achieve multiple objectives including; enhanced availability of formal credit to farmers who otherwise do not have acceptable collateral to secure bank financing; minimize post-harvest losses through a network of accredited warehouses where standardised agricultural produce can be stored; and ensure better price discovery to increase farmers’ profitability and guide them in making better farming decisions, it said.

The system has been developed through collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, including the SBP, Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), federal and provincial governments, and banks among others.