May 23, 2005	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1426

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PESHAWAR, May 22: The NWFP flour millers are said to be at odds again with Punjab’s food department after many of their wheat consignments were reportedly offloaded from trucks in different parts of Punjab over the past few days, sources in business circles said.

“Several trucks carrying wheat for Frontier’s flour mills were barred from proceeding by the district-based staff of Punjab’s food department,” said flour millers on being contacted.

The issue of restrictions on the transportation of wheat from Punjab to the NWFP has again cropped up right at the start of wheat-harvesting season, creating unrest among the owners of flour mills of the NWFP who had suffered substantial losses from last year’s ban, businessmen said.

“We have received complaints from some six flour millers that their wheat consignments had been off-loaded from trucks in Bhakkar, Jhang, Okara and Sahiwal,” said Wadood Noor, secretary of the NWFP chapter of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA).

Senator Ilyas Bilour, former chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), said that restrictions on the transportation of wheat had been imposed by the district-based staff on their own.

“The federal government and the government of Punjab have not imposed curbs on the transportation of wheat outside of Punjab,” he said.

Wheat was available in ample quantity in the open market of Punjab, said Bilour, adding that millers were being offered wheat at Rs398 per maund against the rate of Rs400 at which the provincial government was procuring the commodity.

The millers’ association has taken up the matter with the government of Punjab and the federal ministry of food, agriculture and livestock, its spokesman said.

“The fresh restrictions have come in contravention of a decision made by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and verbal commitment made by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that there would be no ban on transportation of wheat this time round,” said Mr Noor.

Last year, more than 150 flour mills of the NWFP were forced to stop their operations because of non-availability of wheat between April 20, 2004 and August 31, 2004.

In a press release issued here on Sunday, president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Malik Niaz criticized the action of trucks’ stoppage in Punjab and described it as “uncalled for”.

He said it was against the federal government’s open market wheat policy. Similar moves by the Punjab government in the past had caused a severe blow to provincial harmony.

“The government of Punjab should review its decision and ensure free movement of wheat to the NWFP in fulfilment of the federal government’s commitment. Otherwise, the federal ministry’s wheat policy will count for nothing,” said Malik Niaz.

He appealed to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the federal food minister to take notice of the situation and force the government of Punjab to ensure smooth passage to wheat from its jurisdiction to other parts of the country.

The NWFP chapter of the millers’ association has urged the NWFP government to take up the issue with the federal ministry and other quarters concerned to put things right and avoid a repeat of last year’s situation.

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