500,000 tons wheat export target this year, says Khuhro

Food minister says every year govt procures 20% of total wheat production as strategic reserves

HYDERABAD: Wheat export target will be increased from 300,000 tons last year to 500,000 tons this year, said Food and Parliamentary Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro while addressing a press conference on Tuesday.

A bumper crop of 6 million tons has been produced in the province, claimed the food minister. He added that the provincial government will enhance its official wheat procurement ceiling from 1.2 million tons to 1.4 million tons.

Every year, the government procures 20% of the total wheat production as strategic reserves and also to support the wheat growers, Khuhro said.



In contrast to the provincial government's wheat buying target, the grain storage capacity of the food department's silos is limited to 700,000 tons. Responding to a question, Khuhro said the capacity is being upgraded by constructing new silos. However, he did not clarify how the department will ensure safe storage of wheat procured beyond the capacity.

The food minister also shared the government's plan to provide free wheat in Tharparkar. Tharparkar district has not been officially declared as drought hit but 276,000 families in the desert area will receive free wheat from the provincial government, Khuhro said, adding that each family will be given 100 kilogrammes of wheat in two phases.

He further said that the provincial government will disburse Rs2,000 to all people registered with the Benazir Income Support Programme in the province. The amount will be released before Eid, he added.



Khuhro, who is also the provincial president of the Pakistan Peoples Party, criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the press conference. "The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's government appears baffled by the joint investigation team (JIT)," he said. Nawaz and his family know that the JIT will not clear them of the charges of money laundering and concealing ownership of property in London, he said.