January 6, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 5, 1426

LAHORE, Jan 5: Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan has said the government will increase wheat procurement target for the next harvesting season to enable the growers to get due return of their produce.

He was talking to reporters at the Passco head office here on Thursday.

“Consultation with the provincial governments, especially Punjab and Sindh which are major producers of the crop, is going on to prepare an effective procurement plan to protect the interests of growers without harming the private sector,” he said.

He dispelled the impression that the country would enter the next wheat procurement season with “heavy backlog” of wheat stock. He said the country possessed more than 3.5 million tons of wheat reserves at present and a major chunk of it would be released before the arrival of next crop.

Mr Bosan said the removal of export duty on wheat will also help release wheat to Afghanistan and other countries like Gulf states. “Wheat produced in Pakistan, especially in districts of Rahim Yar Khan and Nawabshah, is the best in the world, therefore there will be no problem for the country to export the commodity to Gulf countries as well,” he said.

“There is enough wheat stock to maintain grain security. Consumers are getting wheat and wheat flour on comparatively low rates against last winter, while investors earned a reasonable profit,” he said.

The minister said that prices of pesticides had been reduced to 50 per cent during the past two years, while prices of fertilizers, especially DAP and Potash, would also be reduced.

In reply to a query, the minister expressed the hope that the target of cotton yield for the year would be achieved.—APP