Punjab Food Department has procured 1.27 million tonnes of wheat against its target of 3.5 million tonnes for 2005-06, which is 37 percent of the target. Secretary Food Punjab, Shahid Hassan Raja told APP here on Tuesday that this year procurement campaign remained a little bit slow as compared to that of previous year when 1.715 million tonnes was procured by May 10. The main reason of slow pace of procurement was non-supportive weather conditions, he added.
Giving details, Shahid Hassan said that the department has purchased 313942 tonnes in Bahawalpur division, in D.G. Khan division 163768 tonnes, in Multan division 358458 tonnes, in Sargodha division 62095 tonnes, in Faisalabad division 180114 tonnes, in Lahore division 100861 tonnes, in Gujranwala division 89024 tonnes and in Rawalpindi division only 796 tonnes.
He expressed hope that the campaign would gain momentum in the coming days because the harvesting is in full swing.
However, he warned growers to be vigilant about weather conditions and take appropriate steps to avoid any loss.
The secretary said the department is purchasing wheat at the rate of Rs 400 per 40 kg along with transportation charges of Rs three per bag.
He said price of wheat in the open market is ranging between Rs 395 to Rs 408 which proves that the growers are getting legitimate return of their produce.
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