Punjab Food Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran has said the provincial government has conveyed its federal counterpart about its wheat requirement, telling the latter it will import 2.5 million tonnes of wheat and put up bids on June 14.
The minister chairing a meeting on Thursday, where Secretary Iftikhar Ahmad Rao and Director Waseem Mukhtar were also present, that the Food Department had received over 2,553,770 metric tonnes of wheat.
He said his department had received up to 247,936 metric tonnes from Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur and Okara. He said 336,275 more from Gujranwala, Sialkot and Gujrat, 387,414 (Fasialabad), Toba Tek Singh and Jhang, 198,825 (Sargodha, Mianwali and Bhakkar), 429,246 (Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Khanewal), 4,438 (Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal), 361,305 (DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajan pur and Layyah).
He also said his department had received up to 588,331 from Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan. He said his department had paid Rs 40358.5 million to wheat sellers though more payments would be made according to the schedule.
He said his department had paid Rs 7863.4 million through the National Bank of Pakistan and Rs 6937.0 million (the United Bank), Rs 5968.0 million (the Muslim Commercial Bank), Rs 7848.8 (Habib Bank), Rs 8133.4 million (the Allied Bank) and Rs 3609.9 million (the Bank of Punjab).