Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has directed the Ministry of Food to take immediate measure to ensure expeditious dispatch of imported wheat from Karachi ports to up-country. He also directed the concerned authorities to ensure that the government would honour its commitments and the farmers be given the prices pledged by the government.
He directed the relevant ministries to take necessary steps in this regard. The Prime Minister expressed these views while chairing a meeting to review the availability of wheat, rice, sugar, fertilisers and cotton production and its pricing in the country at the Prime Minister's House on Friday. The meeting was called to review the availability of cotton and sugar, in the backdrop of reports of shortage of various commodities in the country.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Food to take immediate measure to ensure expeditious dispatch of imported wheat from Karachi ports to up-country and provincial governments be authorised to make their own arrangements for quick transportations of wheat stocks according to their share. He directed to take immediate steps to check smuggling of wheat and Urea fertilisers.
Regarding the purchase of paddy the Prime Minster directed the Ministry of Food to ensure to jack up purchase of paddy trough. The meeting decided that Ministry of Finance would take steps to ensure adequate liquidity in the market to enable the husking mills to purchase paddy from the market as early as possible.
It was decided that Ministry of Commerce would work out modalities to export maximum amount of rice through Private Sector as well as State to State exports. It was further decided that TCP would work out modalities to purchase rice from market with a view to stabilise price of rice in the local market.
The Prime Minster directed the Ministry of Industries to ensure that all sugar mills in the country start crushing of sugarcane immediately to avoid any situation of shortage in future. The meeting decided that TCP would weigh the possibility of off-loading about 200,000 tonnes of sugar in the market in early December to maintain adequate supply in the country.
The meeting further decided that intervention price of 40 kg of Phutti (Cotton) will be Rs 1465/- with immediate effect and TCP will buy lint from the market on the basis of this price. The meeting also decided that Ministers of Agriculture and Commerce would take immediate measures so that imports of Urea fertiliser are expedited to ensure that there is no shortage of fertiliser during Rabi season.
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Minister for Industries and Production, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Food and Agriculture, Rafique Ahmad Jamali, Minister of State for Ports and Shipping, Sardar Nabil Ahmad Gabol, Secretaries Commerce, Food and Agriculture, Industries and Production, Interior, MD PASCO and Director TCP also attended the meeting.-PR