30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

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LAHORE, Sept 29: The government of Punjab may start releasing wheat from Friday as the price of flour remains high despite the arrival of a large consignment of Russian wheat.

According to the sources, the chief minister has called a meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation. The government may start releasing 10,000 tons of wheat a day to ease pressure on the flour price, the sources said. The meeting may also decide the quantity of wheat to be imported this year.

The government had earlier planned to start releasing wheat a little before Ramazan but the pressure on flour price necessitated a revision of the schedule, the sources said. "A negative propaganda about the quality of the Russian wheat has upset the government plan," says an official.

Although a consignment of 35,000 tons of wheat has arrived, but owing to rumours about its quality it has not made any impact on the price. Millers say that they are mixing the Russian and local wheat with a ratio of 20:80 and therefore pressure on domestic wheat has not eased in any big way.