Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah ordered relevant authorities on Tuesday to seal borders for curbing wheat smuggling and launch a crackdown on hoarders.
His directives came during a food department meeting, called in the wake of rising wheat and flour prices across the country.
Speaking at the meeting, he directed divisional commissioners and DIGs to launch an operation against wheat hoarders and restrict wheat movement, so as to curb its smuggling.
"Any truck carrying wheat is to flagged and barred from transporting the produce unless it has been cleared by the food department," he said.
Besides, the CM directed commissioners to monitor wheat stocks in their respective areas and maintain a proper record of them.
"I will not tolerate any mistake or misconduct in this regard," he warned.
He further directed that wheat seized from smugglers and hoarders was to be added to wheat stocks instead of being made case property.
When Sukkur commissioner told him about authorities seizing 27,000 tonnes of wheat being smuggled to neighbouring countries, the CM, addressing Sukkur DIG, inquired how many FIRs were registered against the culprits in the case.
At this, the DIG told the CM that 13 FIRs were registered against the culprits, while six food department officials had been suspended.
On being apprised of the development, the CM called for the federal government to assess the situation and take effective measures to avoid a brewing wheat crisis in the country.
Earlier in the meeting, the CM was informed by the commissioners of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad that atta prices were stable in their division.
Moreover, food department secretary told the CM that in Karachi, atta from flour mills was being sold at Rs57 per kilogramme (kg) and chakki atta for Rs64 to Rs65 per kg. Similarly, he said, atta from flour mills was being sold for Rs56 to Rs57 per kg in Hyderabad and chakki atta for Rs54 to Rs58 per kg. In Shaheed Benazirabad, he said, atta from flour mills was being sold for Rs50 to Rs52 per kg and chakki atta for Rs55 per kg.
Providing details about flour prices in other districts, he said that the prices in Sindh were lower in comparison to Punjab. In reply, the CM remarked that this was so because Sindh had enough stock of wheat.
Wheat stocks
Sindh Food Minister Hari Ram Kishori told the meeting that as of July 9, 2020, 6.84 million metric tonnes (MMT) of wheat was available in the country, with Punjab having a 4.28 MMT in stock, Sindh having 1.26 MMT, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa having 0.06 MMT, Balochistan having 0.09 MMT and the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation having 1.14 MMT in stock.
At this, the CM said that during the corresponding period in 2019, wheat stock measured 7.758 MMT. "This shows a shortfall of 0.92 MMT this year," he said.
Wheat Production
Moreover, the CM was told that the national target of wheat production was set at 27.03 MMT against which 25.46 MMT was produced, showing a shortfall of 1.57 tonnes.
At this, the CM said that Sindh had set a wheat production target of 3.8 MMT against which it produced 3.85 MMT, which meant it had 0.052 MMT of wheat in surplus, while all other provinces failed to achieve their production target.
Availability and Consumption
The CM said that the consumption of wheat during 2020-21 had been estimated at 27.47 MMT against which the wheat stock available in the country was 26.06 MMT, which showed a shortfall of 1.41 MMT.
Noting that wheat and flour prices had begun rising only recently, the CM stated, "This is the result of wheat smuggling to other countries and we have to stop it with strict action.''
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2020.
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