July 16, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 12, 1429

PESHAWAR, July 15: The NWFP government has been unable to procure annual wheat stock because of the commodity’s shortage in markets of Punjab.

The provincial government, which is supposed to cater to the flour requirement of 2.7 million people, could not purchase a ‘single’ kilogramme of wheat by the end of the procurement season last month because of its non-availability in the market, according to a food department official.

The Frontier government had planned to procure 2.05 million tons of wheat from Punjab and the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco) against the total requirement of 3.421 million tons this year.

“Punjab markets are short of wheat stock,” the official said, adding that bad harvest, unabated hoarding and subsequent smuggling of flour were the prime reasons for the current situation.

The situation even had affected the Punjab government as said the official it had also failed to meet the procurement target this year. The Punjab government, according to him, had planned to procure 6 million tons this year, but by the end of the procurement season it could only purchase 2.527 million tons, giving it an opportunity to ‘justify’ a ban, it recently placed unilaterally, on inter-provincial movement of the commodity.

The official said the Frontier government had taken up the matter with Punjab time and again, but so far no breakthrough could be made.

Passco, which is responsible for procuring wheat for provincial governments, had assured the Frontier government of giving mere 50,000 tons in the current year although the government had nothing in writing on this, he said.

He conceded that consumers in the Frontier province would bear the brunt of the government’s inability by paying higher as compared to consumers in Punjab. Consumers in the NWFP are paying Rs100-120 more for a 20kg flour bag than those in Punjab.The NWFP food department usually procures wheat from Punjab and Passco, which it issues to local flour mills and then it is supposed to be sold to people at subsidised rates.

Last year, the provincial government paid Rs5.62 billion as subsidy on wheat although it benefited a tiny portion of the population.

According to the local flour mill industry, the Frontier government had stopped supply of wheat to mills, forcing over 200 flour mills to close.

The local flour industry has held the Punjab government responsible for the prevailing crisis because of its ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat.