Sindh will release government wheat from 15 October at Rs12,500 for a 100kg bag. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah approved the release so flour prices in the province can be steadied, Dawn reported. In Punjab, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz post said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz called an emergency meeting on rising flour prices, the subsidised wheat quota for mills would be increased, and a Rs10 billion subsidy was approved. The Prime Minister's Office statement on Tuesday's farm council did not set out that subsidy.
Shehbaz said the fair price of wheat has to be fixed before sowing, so growers are paid properly for their work. "No leniency will be shown to those hoarding wheat," he said. He added that the aim is a fair return for farmers and wheat that households can afford. He described agriculture as the backbone of the national economy and said it could move Pakistan toward growth in the short term.
A wheat price after provincial talks
The price itself will not be set by the centre alone. Shehbaz said the provinces will be consulted before the price of wheat in Pakistan is announced, that those talks will finish soon, and that the figure will follow shortly. The office's statement did not quote a rupee figure.
Last week, National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said targets for Rabi crops, the winter sowing season, would be locked in only after an "illustrative price" for wheat was declared. He said ministers know farmers are under pressure from higher input, energy and transport costs.
The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, a farmers' group, asked last month for a support price of Rs5,000 for every 40 kilograms. A support price is the minimum the government indicates growers should receive. The group warned that farmers might not plant wheat for the coming season if crop policy stays undecided, and said they cannot pay for balanced fertiliser because production costs are not being recovered.
Shehbaz said fair crop prices, above all for small and medium-scale farmers, are a priority. He also listed low-cost fertiliser, quality seed, modern machinery and technical help for using water better as the federal government's first task, with all kinds of support promised to the provinces.
Flour supply in Sindh and Punjab
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Sindh Food Minister Makhdoom Mehboob uz Zaman joined the Islamabad meeting and described what their provinces are doing for farmers. The council also heard briefings on agriculture in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Shehbaz praised Maryam Nawaz for farmer programmes, aquaculture, shrimp farming and direct subsidies through the Kisan Card. He said the Sindh chief minister was "working day and night" for farmers and the facilities they need.
Away from that session, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has approved the release of government wheat from 15 October at Rs12,500 a 100-kilogram bag, so flour prices in the province can be steadied and stocks stay available. In Punjab, Maryam Nawaz called an emergency meeting because flour prices were rising. A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz post said she was strongly displeased and directed that affordable flour and wheat be supplied "under all circumstances".
The same post said the subsidised wheat quota for flour mills would be increased and that a Rs10 billion subsidy had been approved for affordable flour. The Prime Minister's Office statement on the council meeting did not set out that subsidy.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar; federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Dr Musadiq Malik, Jam Kamal Khan, Ahad Khan Cheema, Ahsan Iqbal, Attaullah Tarar, Khalid Hussain Magsi and Mian Moin Wattoo; and advisers Rana Sanaullah and Haroon Akhtar. Shehbaz said livestock could raise exports and that work is under way to sell more Pakistani halal meat abroad.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Last month: The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad demanded a Rs5,000 per 40kg wheat support price and warned that sowing could fall if the government delayed crop policy.
- Last week: Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said Rabi crop targets would be finalised after an illustrative wheat price was announced.
- Tuesday: Shehbaz Sharif chaired the first National Agricultural and Food Security Council meeting in Islamabad and said hoarders of wheat would get no leniency.
- 15 October: Sindh is to begin releasing government wheat at Rs12,500 per 100kg bag.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Wazir-e-Azam Shehbaz Sharif ne kaha hai ke mulk mein gandum ki kami nahi hai. Jo log gandum chhupa kar rakhte hain, un par sakhti hogi. Gandum ki qeemat soobon se baat kar ke jald batayi jayegi, taake kisan ko sahi daam mile aur logon ko sasta aata mil sake. Sindh mein 15 October se sarkari gandum 12,500 rupay ke 100 kilo bag par niklega, aur PML-N ke mutabiq Punjab ne sasta aata ke liye 10 arab rupay ki subsidy manzoor ki hai.
