Lifting of ban on wheat movement: Sindh refuses to implement cabinets decision

The Sindh Food Department has refused to implement the Cabinets decision to lift inter-provincial as well as inter-district ban on the movement of wheat. Reliable sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that in a recent Cabinet meeting, it was decided that the Sindh Food Department would have to lift the ban on inter-provincial and inter-district movement of wheat.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Minfa) wrote a letter to the provincial Food Department to lift section 144 that is increasing prices of wheat in the province. But the Sindh Food Department did not pay any heed. In response to the letter written by Minfa, the provincial Food Department has sent a letter to the Federal Food Ministry, in which it has refused to lift the ban, sources told Business Recorder.
When Business Recorder contacted a senior official of the Sindh Food Department, on condition of anonymity he said that the provincial government has taken the step just to avoid smuggling of wheat from Sindh to Balochistan and then to Afghanistan.
The Federal government knows very well that wheat is being smuggled from Punjab to NWFP, Balochistan and Afghanistan. The Sindh government will not repeat what is already happening in Punjab, he said. Further, We do not want to lift the ban and that is why we have written each and every thing clearly to the Federal government, the official added.
The Sindh government has started procurement of wheat from March 1 and has procured 0.2 million metric tons of wheat so far. According to schedule, the procurement targets are: Punjab to procure 3.5 million tonnes; Sindh 1.20 million tonnes; NWFP 0.30 million tonnes; Balochistan 0.05 million tonnes; and Passco 1.5 million tonnes.
We are quite hopeful that the Sindh Food Department would achieve its procurement target soon, he said. A reliable source at Minfa told Business Recorder that the growers in Sindh are not being paid Rs 950 per 40kg wheat. They are being deprived of their fair crop return and are being paid just Rs 920 against per 40 kg wheat bag, the official said.
In the interior of Sindh, the growers are forced to sell their crop to the middle man, who purchase wheat from the farmers at Rs 920 per 40 kg bag and sell it to the registered procurement centres at a price of Rs 950 per 40 kg. The provincial government is behaving like a silent spectator and has not taken any action against the culprits, who are paying less to the farmers, sources regretted.
Furthermore, the flour price in the domestic market has reached Rs 600 per 20 kg bag, because the provincial flour mills are not getting any wheat from the government due to the arrival of new crop in the local market, Minfa sources said. The flour mill owners are purchasing wheat from the open market at Rs 470 per 20 kg, sources maintained.
In addition, the government may achieve production of about 23 million tonnes during the current fiscal year, he said. Last year, the government set the wheat production target at 24 million tonnes and achieved 20.9 million tonnes, resulting in import of 2.5 million tonnes, which was later increased to 3.5 million tonnes, sources added.