12 October 2004	Tuesday	26 Shaban 1425

QUETTA, Oct 11: Balochistan will purchase wheat from Australia, India and Bangladesh and a delegation head by Provincial Food Minister Maulana Noor Mohammad will soon visit the countries in this regard.

The minister said during a meeting on Monday: "There will be no shortage of flour in the province during Ramazan." He said the provincial food department had arranged 300,000 tons of wheat to meet the requirement during Ramazan.

He said a consignment of wheat would reach the official warehouses by Oct 15. "We have purchased 100,000 tons of wheat through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies Corporation," he said.

He said Punjab was providing 200,000 tons of wheat for Balochistan, which would reach the provincial capital in three days. The minister said the food department had 60,000 tons of wheat in its stock and it was enough for about six weeks.

He said the government had arranged to supply flour to people through fair-price shops. He said the record of the shops would be monitored daily. He said the government would not allow flour price to increase during Ramazan and it would ensure smooth supply to the people. He said he would visit Australia, India and Bangladesh next month for purchasing wheat for fulfilling the requirement of Balochistan.