6.52m tons of wheat procured

6.52 million tons of wheat as opposed to set target of 7.5 million tons has been procured.

About 6.52 million tons of wheat has been procured so far against the set target of 7.5 million tons during the wheat procurement campaign to fulfill the domestic consumption of the commodity for year 2010-11.

Wheat Commissioner in Ministry of Food and Agriculture Dr Shakeel Ahmad khan told APP on Thursday that Punjab has procured about 3.4 million tons of wheat as against the set target of 4 million tons during the current financial year.

Meanwhile, Sindh has completed its procurement task, procuring1.5 million tons of the commodity at official fixed rate of Rs950 per kg.

Dr Shakeel said that Khybar Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have procured 0.15 and 0.05 million tons respectively.

The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supply Corporation (PASSCO) has procured 1.12 million tons of grains from Sindh and Punjab as against the set target of 1.6 million tons, he added.

The wheat commissioner informed that to facilitate the growers, PASSCO has established 187 procurement centers in Punjab and Sindh provinces whereas Food Department Balochistan would procure wheat in the province, he added.

Out of 187 centers 175 have been established in 17 different tehsils of punjab while 12 centers have been established in two tehsils of Sindh province, he said.

Dr Shakeel said that PASSCO would procure 15,60,000 tons wheat from Punjab and 40,000 tons from Sindh to build strategic reserves for future consumption in the country.