Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has so far procured 548,843 metric tons of wheat against the target of 1.3 million tons assigned to it by the Federal government. According to a spokesman of the Corporation, its procurement centres working in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces had procured 548,843 metric tons of wheat till Monday evening.
According to the break up, the Corporation procured 492,856 metric tons from Punjab, 10,497 metric tons from Sindh and 679 metric tons from Balochistan province till Monday evening. While it has distributed sufficient gunny bags for packing 722,025 metric tons of wheat in all the three provinces. According to the break up, it has distributed gunny bags for 673,530 metric tons in Punjab, 16,657 metric tons in Sindh and 2, 477 metric tons in Balochistan province till Monday.
While Punjab food department has so far procured over 2.1 million tons of wheat against the target of four million tons. While it has distributed gunny bags for over 2.5 million tons of wheat.
Meanwhile Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) Central President Sardar Zafar Hussein Khan has urged the Federal government to increase the procurement target assigned to the Passco and bring it to the level of last year, when the Corporation was assigned to buy 1.6 million tons. He claimed that growers were facing lot of problems due to decrease in target.
He also drew the attention of the provincial government towards what he said corruption and irregularities of the food department staff in Bahawalnagar district. He warned that if steps were not taken to redress the situation then growers would stage demonstrations in front of all the procurement centres in the district.