April 16, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 9, 1429

LAHORE, April 15: The flour supply crisis in the province worsened on Tuesday, with the Punjab government’s wheat procurement policy plunging in the mist of “political and administrative haze”.

Speculation and blame-game marks the beginning of procurement which is formally starting on Wednesday (today) amid claims by the millers that they are facing ‘undeclared’ ban on buying. Two mills in Multan were challaned for procuring wheat on Tuesday.

The food department, however, denied the allegation, saying the millers were free to buy wheat within the district of their location. “There is no restriction on procurement by the millers,” said Director Food Waseem Mukhtar. But, he added, they had to restrict buying for the time being within their districts. The district procurement policy would be finalised in a day or two, he said.

Many other department officials were not sure about even such a restriction and claimed that the millers were free to get wheat from wherever they could.

The department would, however, monitor the provincial border to stop crop transportation out of the province, they said.

The food department itself would procure wheat for other provinces according to their requirement or demand, and supply it to them officially.

Pakistan Flour Mills Association President Habib Rehman Leghari said the department had decreased wheat release from 18,000 ton to 12,000 ton daily. The millers had to buy wheat from the open market to supplement their grinding. “If the department keeps on restricting procurement, as it did on Tuesday, where would the miller get wheat from for grinding and meet the shortage,” he questioned.

He said they had taken up the matter with Chief Minister Dost Muhammad Khosa who ordered an inquiry into the mills’ challan. However, scare and cautious approach by the millers was keeping the destabilisation in the market.

He said the chief minister had convened a late-night meeting to further thrash out the issues.

The department on Tuesday also increased release price from Rs465 per 40kg to Rs625 and fixed ex-mill price of a 20kg bag at Rs380 against Rs300 of Monday last -- an increase of Rs80 per 20kg or Rs4 per kilogram. “It is the record increase in a day which benefits the department and millers for their stocks of last crop.”

The millers have over 80,000 tons of declared stocks and the department have around 75,000 ton. Both would make a windfall profit at the cost of hapless consumers.

“In fact, the meeting was meant to get clearance from Mr Shahbaz Sharif,” said another miller, who added that the earlier meeting in the morning was more of a cosmetic exercise.

The wheat procurement campaign 2008 is formally kicking off today for which the food department has made arrangements to facilitate the farmers. As many as 345 wheat procurement centres have been set up and gunny bags provided to them.A department spokesman said wheat would be purchased at the new support price of Rs625 per 40kg from the growers and Rs7 per 100kg would also be paid as delivery charges.

He said wheat procurement would continue from 7am to 7pm daily without any interval, including Sundays.

He said all possible facilities would be extended to the growers at procurement centres and 50 gunny bags could be provided on personal guarantee. The supervisory committees, he said, had been constituted, having representatives of local MPAs, district management and the growers.

In order to redress farmers’ grievances, he said, toll-free telephone numbers had been installed at the Food Directorate and all other regional offices of the department. The telephone lines would remain open from 8am to 10pm daily, he added.