05 February 2005	Saturday	25 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Feb 4: The tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia has hit the country's wheat import which is falling almost two weeks behind schedule, creating a temporary ripple in domestic market.

According to officials of the Punjab Food Department, they were forced to postpone a liberal release policy as ships carrying wheat have been delayed.

"The province has received only 65,000 tons of wheat out of the total scheduled import of 500,000 tons," said acting food secretary Jawad Rafique Malik. Two ships with around 70,000 tons of wheat were supposed to arrive in the last week of January, but they had been delayed and would now arrive on Feb 14 and 17, he said, adding this delay was naturally affecting the domestic market.

He said the department had planned offering liberal releases to each mill according to its demand by the start of January. Now it might be delayed till the last week of February when around 125,000 tons of wheat would arrive and ease the department's stock situation, he said.

He hoped that rest of the 500,000 tons would reach in March and make the stock situation comfortable, allowing the department to execute liberal release policy. Because of squeezing situation, he said, the department was releasing only 20,000 tons a day to millers.

But it denied quota to mills for Saturday, being holiday on the Kashmir Day, which invited a strong protest from the Pakistan Flour Mills Association. The association said stopping quota of mills when private market had gone completely dry would send wrong signals to hoarders.

"The department is creating problems for itself and millers," according to Khaliq Arshad, the chairman of the Punjab wing of the PFMA. By denying one-day quota to millers, the department was creating insecurity in market and only encouraging hoarding.

Although the acting food secretary had promised to release the day's quota, regional offices had refused to do so, he said and demanded an inquiry into the case of disobedience.

The secretary, however, conceded stoppage of quota citing shortage of supply. "Once the imported wheat arrives, the department will compensate millers," he said. The millers could get additional supply for Sunday Bazaar supplies, but they did not need wheat for holiday because of no grinding.