Senior Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that full procurement of wheat this year is a joint achievement of the concerned departments. He said that Punjab spends huge amount of money to procure wheat and next year we will change the volume and method of procurement of wheat.
He said this while presiding over a high level meeting on the situation of wheat and flour in Punjab and other important issues of the departments.
Punjab Law Minister Raja Muhammad Basharat, Industry Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Agriculture Minister Malik Noman Langarial, while attending the meeting on video link, briefed about their departments.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that procurement of wheat at government level has almost completed and we not only have come close to our target, but the record of the last 10 years has been broken in Punjab by making record purchases.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that by stopping the purchase of wheat in Punjab, arrangements are being made for the province of KP in which the food departments of both the provinces will adopt joint strategy.
Similarly, flour mills and seed companies can buy as much wheat as they want in Punjab.
He clarified that he would take all the stakeholders into confidence for the change in next year’s wheat policy.
In the meeting, Malik Noman Langarial apprised the meeting about the damage caused to the crops, especially by the current locust infestation, while Industry Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal spoke about the price of flour and related departments.
It was decided in the meeting that after consultation of the Food Department and Flour Mills Association, the matter of flour prices would be decided by the district administration in each division. Chief Secretary Punjab and Secretary Food also briefed the meeting regarding the situation of wheat and flour in the province.
