KARACHI: President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain has emphasized the need that an eye should be kept on the supply and demand situation of wheat so that government departments could intervene if negative forces come into play.

Lauding the decision of the ECC to allow the private sector to import wheat, he said that the decision will tackle shortages, discourage hoarders and stabilize prices to provide relief to the masses.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the decision was delayed unnecessarily and warnings from stakeholders were ignored otherwise mafia would not have been able to exploit poor masses. He said the wheat production is almost 25 million tonnes while the requirement is around 27.5 million tonnes which should be bridged through imports immediately as price in the international market is favourable.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020