LAHORE: Rice traders and seed and poultry associations fear that the recently promulgated anti-hoarding law will be misused to hurt their and the country’s interests.

Representatives of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP), Asia-Pacific Seed Association (APSA), Poultry Association of Pakistan and other large-scale sectors held a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday with LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh in the chair.

They expressed their reservations regarding the anti-hoarding ordinance and demanded clarifying parameters for implementation of the law so that it may not be misused against genuine stocks of eatables, particularly wheat and rice stocks meant for seed and export purposes.

They demanded that the government ensure that the law is not used against the trading community as an arm-twisting measure and sought a clear definition of hoarding and the essential stocks.

They argued that industries, wholesale dealers and retailers have to maintain a reasonable stock of merchandise to ensure smooth supplies throughout the year. Likewise, seed companies have to store seed for use in the next season but, they alleged, they are not being allowed to procure basic and certified wheat seed by officials of food departments of Punjab and Sindh along with the district administration notwithstanding instructions by the Punjab food minister in this respect.

Rather, they alleged, farmers are being threatened with action under the anti-hoarding law if they retain wheat crop for seed purposes, while no law mentions need for any permit for such stocks.

They regretted that no government has ever differentiated between illegal hoarding and lawful stocks and if the discretionary powers in the new law are misused, they warned, the trade sector will further plunge into crisis creating unrest in the society.

Those who attended the meeting included LCCI SVP Ali Hussam Asghar, VP Mian Zahid Javed, REAP President Shahjahan Malik, SAP chief Chaudhry Bilal Ahmed and Rana Salman, APSA’s Tahir Saleemi and poultry association’s Chaudhry Furqan, Pir Syed Nazim Shah, Chaudhry Nusrat, Suhail Malik, Haris Ateeq, Arshad Khan and others.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2020