The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the formation of a high level steering committee to assess the country’s wheat import needs and develop a mechanism for any future imports based on provincial demand.
The decision was taken at an ECC meeting chaired virtually by Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday.
According to an official statement, the committee will evaluate whether wheat imports are required and prepare an operational framework to manage the process if needed. It will also review requests from the provinces before making recommendations on imports.
The steering committee will be chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and include key federal ministers responsible for national food security, commerce, economic affairs and law.
It will also include the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Coordination at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Agriculture and Food Security, senior officials from the finance, commerce and food security ministries, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, the chairman of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, and the chief secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Officials said the committee’s main role will be to determine the country’s wheat requirements and put in place a clear import mechanism that reflects the needs of the provinces while ensuring coordinated decision making at the federal level.
The ECC meeting was attended by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan.
The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Agriculture and Food Security, along with federal secretaries and senior officials from the relevant ministries, divisions and regulatory bodies, also participated in the meeting.
