The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Tuesday granted approval for the export of 500,000 tonnes of wheat from the government godowns of Punjab, Sindh and PASSCO. Finance Minister Asad Umar chaired the ECC meeting which was cut short as he had to depart for a foreign trip. The ECC discussed the proposal submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding export of surplus wheat/products as requested by the provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh and the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO). The committee accorded approval for export of 0.5 million tonnes of wheat by PASSCO and the provincial governments. It was decided that any financial support for freight requested for the purpose would be provided by the respective provincial governments. The federal government would bear the cost to be incurred on export of wheat by the PASSCO only. Further, a committee comprising senior officials from Commerce, Finance and Food Security would review the situation in two-week time and make recommendation for further exports, if required. According to sources, matters related to extraction of gas reserves from Dhok Haseen Field and the issues arising from the construction of a LNG terminal in Karachi could not be discussed during the meeting as it was cut short. “Matters pertaining to payment of dues to the heirs of deceased employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills as well as the price of sugarcane and the cost of production of sugar could not be discussed either,” sources added. The decision to grant approval for a gas load management programme for domestic and industrial users was also delayed, the sources further said. Published in Daily Times, November 21st 2018.