The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the sale of 500,000 metric tons of Passco wheat to settle bank liabilities and pay severance packages to employees of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco).
Passco has been holding stocks of imported wheat since 2022, generating billions in interest, storage, and handling costs. Officials said the sale is being carried out due to aging wheat, rising market prices, and low demand from government agencies. The wheat will be sold through competitive bidding.
The ECC set the reserve price at Rs4,450 per 40 kg for local wheat and Rs4,070 per 40 kg for imported wheat. The auction is expected to end by February 15, with wheat lifting scheduled by March 15. Proceeds from the sale will help ease Passco’s financial burden, stabilize market prices, and provide domestic consumers with subsidized wheat.
As of April 2025, Passco held 2.448 million metric tons of wheat. Allocations for Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan accounted for 300,000 and 160,000 tons respectively, leaving 1.988 million tons available for disposal. The ECC said updates on the auction progress will be reviewed by the end of February.
Officials added that this disposal will reduce Passco’s annual carrying costs of over Rs11 billion, prevent further losses from imported wheat, and support the federal cabinet’s plan to wind up Passco operations.