June 10, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 05, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 9: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Monday he had intelligence reports about wheat hoarding by some “honourable” people who, he said, must bring their stocks to the market to ease shortages or face disgrace.

Responding to an opposition call-attention notice, he said more wheat could be imported if shortages persisted even after the already arranged import of 2.5 million metric tons arrived by the end of November while the private sector too would be able to import the grain put on the free list.

He cited hoarding as one of the reasons for wheat shortages besides the previous government’s failure to fix a support price in time, a three-fold increase in DAP fertilizer price and a resulting drop in cultivation and yield, and said he had received report on Monday from the Inter-Services Intelligence and other agencies that some “barey izzatdar” (very honourable) people were hoarding stocks.

“From this forum I appeal to them — we know where the stocks are hidden — to bring out wheat by themselves so that they are not embarrassed afterwards” (by any government action), the prime minister said without giving any names.

The call-attenion notice by four members of the formerly ruling Pakistan Muslim League complained of the government’s “failure” to achieve a wheat procurement target of five million metric tons that they said led to the increase in the flour price.

Mr Gilani, speaking on behalf of the minister in charge of food and agriculture, said 3.86 million metric tons had already been procured, with Punjab and Sindh provinces meeting about 80 per cent each and Pakistan Agricultural Supplies Corporation 57 per cent of their respective targets, mainly because his government fixed a procurement price of Rs625 per 40 kg.

“Otherwise nobody was prepared to sell even a kilo (of wheat),” he added.

The prime minister assured the house his government would fix and announce the procurement price of the next wheat crop “before time” and said a price control committee headed by a minister would monitor price prices to prevent shortages.