ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, chaired a meeting here on Wednesday to discuss the framework to facilitate the farmers through Warehouse Receipt Financing (WHRF).
The Adviser was briefed about the importance of storage infrastructure for agriculture commodities which could save billion of rupees and make agriculture sector more competitive, said a press release issued by Ministry of Finance here.
In order to address the issue of post-harvest losses and enhance farmers’ access to agriculture credit, the meeting emphasized to introduce a formal commodity management and Warehouse Receipt Financing System.
The meeting discussed the key challenges facing the implementation of WHRF in Pakistan, including lack of regulatory framework for Collateral Management Companies (CMCs) and lack of capacity of Banks and other stake holders to facilitate farmers in provision of WHRF.
The meeting discussed a draft law for Collateral Management Company. The proposed law will create linkages between Warehousing, collateralization, issuance of electronic warehousing receipt (eWHR) and eWHR Financing.
The Adviser appreciated the efforts made by Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in establishing the Warehouse Receipt Financing Facility in Pakistan. He said that the WHRF would help reducing post-harvest losses in agriculture sector.
It was also decided to hold another meeting in the next month to review the progress about the subject. The Adviser directed the concerned quarters that the final draft of proposed law should be submitted in 4 to 5 weeks’ time after consultation from all the relevant stakeholders. The meeting was participated by Chairman SECP, governor SBP, Acting President ZTBL, Secretary Agriculture Punjab and Chairman PAC along with Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen.
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