LAHORE, May 14: The Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, said on Wednesday the wheat procurement campaign was going successfully, and there was no ban on its movement or inter-provincial trade.

Presiding over a meeting regarding the campaign, he said the government had procured 1.9 million tons of wheat till May 12 against 1.35 million tons got in the last year. The government had honoured its promise of buying all the wheat from the farmers and to pay them full price of their crop, he added.

He said this year the private sector also had been allowed to buy wheat from the open market. The government had provided gunny bags to the farmers and established purchase centres all over the province, he said.

“The farmers have been given full price of their crop for the first time in the country’s history and no complaint has been received in this regard,” he said.

Mr Elahi said all the cabinet ministers, advisers and special assistants had been monitoring the wheat purchase at various centres.

Law Minister Raja Basharat, Agriculture Minister Arshad Lodhi, Food Minister Chaudhry Iqbal, adviser Jehangir Tareen and Chief Secretary Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa were present on the occasion.