Minister urged to persuade Punjab to release wheat
By Intikhab Amir
PESHAWAR, Jan 24: The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), NWFP, has appealed to the Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture, Cooperatives and Livestock Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan to ask the Punjab government
to release 100,000 tons of wheat to the Frontier province to fulfil its promise, according to business circles.
An understanding to this effect was brokered on July 29, last, by the then federal minister for water and power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao in his capacity as the head of inter- provincial coordination committee (IPCC).
"Despite the fact that more than five months have passed since the understanding reached, the government of Punjab has not yet fulfilled its promise," said a spokesman for the PFMA, NWFP, when contacted.
The arrangement of providing 100,000 tons wheat to NWFP's flour mills from the Punjab government's own stocks has been necessitated at a time when transportation of wheat from Punjab to other parts of the country is not allowed in accordance with a ban introduced on April 20, last by Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi to ensure food security in that province.
In two recent letters to the federal minister for food and agriculture, the PFMA, NWFP, has requested him to make government of Punjab to fulfil its commitment in respect of providing the promised quantity of wheat.
The spokesman said that NWFP's flour millers were still in need of wheat because of the non-availability of wheat in the open market. The provision of 100,000 tons wheat from Punjab, the spokesman said, would help the NWFP's mills to overcome shortage of wheat to some extent.
Though the Punjab government had lifted the ban on transportation of wheat in September, last, the move did not come as a big help to NWFP's flour mill sector because, maintained the business circles, there was not much wheat in the open market of Punjab that could have been lifted by the NWFP's flour millers.
"During the five-month-long period in which transportation of wheat from Punjab to the NWFP remained at the zero level because of the ban, bulk of the wheat stock in the open market of Punjab was either procured by the government of Punjab or by the millers of that province, leaving not much when we got the opportunity, in September, to build up our stocks," said a miller
Apprising the federal minister for food and agriculture about the government of Punjab's promise, the PFMA requested the minister to intervene and help in implementation of the IPCC's decision.
The minister was informed that despite several reminders to the food department of the government of Punjab no action had been taken. "We are reminding the Punjab food department repeatedly to fulfil their government's obligation and in spite of completing all formalities suitable action has not been taken," a PFMA letter dated Jan 17, last noted.
Business circles say that the NWFP's flour mills were in dire need of larger quantity of wheat to continue milling operations as several mills were likely to be closed down because of the shortage of wheat.
At present, each of the 150 plus operational flour mills in the NWFP are getting 35 to 50 bags, weighing 100 kilograms of wheat every day from the official godowns of the NWFP government.
"Other than this quantity of wheat, NWFP's flour mills are not getting wheat from any other source, therefore, several of them are fast approaching to a situation where it would be difficult for them to continue operations," said a miller.
