ECC approves sale of 500,000 tons of wheat, Rs29.66b grant for vaccines

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the sale of 500,000 metric tons of wheat stock held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) through competitive bidding, aimed at reducing excess stocks, cutting storage costs and ensuring stability in wheat prices at the national level.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the ECC meeting was held under the chairmanship of Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and approved a series of key decisions related to the wheat, energy, health, education and development sectors.

As part of the wheat-related measures, the ECC also approved the provision of 300,000 metric tons of wheat to the Food and Consumer Protection Department of the Punjab government to ensure a continuous supply of flour and provide relief to consumers.

In the financial sector, the committee approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs10.98 billion for the Pakistan Post Office Department to clear long-pending dues of utility companies accumulated over several years.

In the health sector, the ECC approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs29.663 billion for the Federal Directorate of Immunization. The allocation will be used to ensure an uninterrupted supply of vaccines and syringes across the country, aimed at protecting the population against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The ECC also approved the distribution of subsidy on imported urea on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis between the federal and provincial governments. For this purpose, a technical supplementary grant of Rs23.42 billion was sanctioned, of which Rs15 billion will be released by the Ministry of Finance.

In the development sector, the committee allocated Rs1 billion for development projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme. Of this, Rs900 million will be spent through the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company.

Additionally, a grant of Rs150 million was approved for Cadet College Hassan Abdal to improve its administrative and development affairs.

The ECC also approved the provision of solar panels seized by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to the Gilgit-Baltistan government, with the objective of addressing power shortages in the region and promoting renewable energy solutions.