ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: The Economy Monitoring Committee (EMC) directed the ministries of food and commerce on Monday to take immediate steps to ensure supply of full quota of wheat to provinces after the NWFP, Balochistan, Sindh and tribal areas accused Punjab of stopping the movement of wheat and causing shortage of flour and the price increase.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin presided over the EMC meeting to review wheat and fertiliser stocks and food price situation in the country.

In Punjab, flour is selling at Rs23.5 per kg, but consumers in the NWFP and Balochistan are paying Rs40 for the same quantity of flour and the price in Sindh is Rs36 per kg.

Punjab, however, alleges that its wheat is being smuggled to Afghanistan and that NWFP government has done nothing to curb the smuggling which is causing shortages in Punjab as well.

A Minfal official told Dawn that the food ministry had complained not only to the Punjab government but also to the prime minister about the curbs on the movement of wheat and flour.

Officials of the ministry informed the meeting that currently the government held a stock of 3.25 million tons of wheat while another 455,000 tons had been imported to supplement the stock.

The EMC directed Minfal and the Ministry of Commerce to take steps to end shortages in wheat-deficient areas.

Mr Tarin directed the ministries concerned to ensure that sufficient stocks were procured and the distribution system was streamlined to meet any emergency so that people got quality flour.

The meeting was informed that the overall food price situation had remained stable over the past week and it could be further improved through equitable distribution.

About the demand and supply of urea in the country, the EMC held the view that middleman and dealers were fleecing the farmers who were now sowing wheat. The EMC observed that if needed alternative means could be used for distribution of urea.

The committee called for immediate action to refurbish the urea stocks and said that any shortfall could adversely affect the government’s efforts to achieve this year’s target of 25million tons of wheat.

On a point raised by Utility Store Corporation about delay in payment, Mr Tarin directed the Ministry of Finance to address the USC’s complaint.