The worsening Atta crisis in many urban centres, including Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahimyar Khan, Sahiwal, Khanewal will cause a negative impact on the election campaign of PML-Q, as this crisis aggravated during its tenure despite claims of a bumper wheat crop of 23.5 million tonnes.
The blame-game is under way for fixing the responsibility on the federal government holding the provincial food departments and millers responsible for this situation.
But the federal government's delayed decision to impose 35 percent regulatory duty on wheat export has also contributed to the worsening situation, said former NA speaker Syed Fakhar Imam. "The government should have imposed 35 percent regulatory duty almost three months back in order to avert this crisis," he added.
He said the delayed decision would have no impact now as major stocks had already been exported to neighbouring states, including Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics. The country's leading intelligence agency had prepared a list of hoarders hailing from Punjab and Sindh, but the federal government was hiding it from the public. This means that the government is giving protection to those who are involved in the crime, observers said. "In such a situation, how can the candidates of the PML-Q ask voters to cast their votes in their favour?" an official asked this correspondent.
The ECC, in its last meeting, had directed the provincial governments to increase the release of wheat to the mills, but this has not worked so far. The situation continues to deteriorate despite the federal and provincial government statements that there was no shortage of wheat in the country.
Some circles within the government said that the actual problem arose when the economic managers presented wrong wheat production figures of 23.5 million tonnes in order to show more agriculture growth last time.
After this, the agriculture minister managed to seek permission for exporting 0.5 million tonnes of wheat. Exporters had sent wheat at $225 per ton, but the government was purchasing/importing wheat between $425 and $430 per ton.
It was a wrong decision because the ECC had allowed its export without assessing the actual situation on the ground. Then, hoarding and smuggling of wheat has exacerbated the crisis.
According to some estimates, wheat smuggling and hoarding stood at 1.5 to 2.5 million tones. Later, the then-Shaukat Aziz government allowed import of wheat, but the situation never improved. The finance ministry proposed imposing 35 percent regulatory duty but it was not approved.
Now the blame game is on. The government is blaming the millers for the existing shortage of atta. But the flourmill owners are blaming the provincial food departments for the slow release of wheat, resulting in acute shortage of atta in the market. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and the provincial food departments are most likely to face the music over the severe wheat and flour crisis across the country at the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committeeof the cabinet.
The imposition of 35 percent duty on the export of wheat and its products is not working as the atta crisis in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad and in the suburban areas of Lahore has further aggravated.
"According to the government estimate, the growers lobby having a lot of influence in the former ruling party, made over Rs 12 billion in illegal profit," the official said. He said Minfal had recommended to the ECC that wheat releases to the mills in the Punjab be increased to 20,000 tonnes per day from 18,000 tonnes.