ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to keep a watch on wheat prices in adjoining areas of Afghanistan and engage with Punjab government to assess true requirement for further imports.

Presiding over a meeting with KP government on wheat situation, Adviser to the PM on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the government will take all out measures to ensure availability of sufficient wheat and flour to the masses throughout the year.

The meeting reviewed in detail the situation, availability and future demand of wheat and flour in the KP province, an official statement said. The meeting was also attended by Adviser to PM on Commerce, Textile and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, KP Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, KP Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary Finance Naveed Kamran Baloch, National Food Security & Research Secretary Omar Hamid Khan.

The meeting was told that Punjab could also face wheat shortage unless close monitoring was ensured in other provinces. Dr Shaikh told the meeting that he would also discuss the wheat situation with Punjab government to extend maximum support to KP government while Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Service Corporation (Passco) was already helping out KP.

It was reported that KP’s districts bordering Punjab had always been receiving about 60 per cent of wheat and wheat flour from Punjab and this traditional route had to be maintained and there should not be any restriction on movement of wheat or flour in these areas. The meeting was told that chakki atta from Punjab to KP’s border areas was going on but bulk supplies faced disruptions.

KP Chief Secretary Dr. Kazim Niaz told the meeting that the provincial government had about 0.6 million tonnes of wheat stocks while it had recently procured 100,000 tonnes from Passco and procurement of another 100,000 was in process.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2020