Sindh’s wheat support price termed ‘too high’

NA panel on commerce urges support price announcement before end of September

ISLAMABAD:

Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce expressed reservation on Thursday to the Sindh government’s announcement of fixing Rs4,000 rate of 40 kilogrammes of wheat in the province, saying the rate was too high.

During its meeting at the Parliament House, with the committee chairman Raza Rabbani Khar in the chair, the National Food Security Ministry was directed to announce the wheat support price by the end of this month, as it would increase production of the commodity.

The committee also directed the Food Security Ministry to take steps to increase the use of certified seeds. It was informed by the Industry Ministry officials that there would be no shortage of urea fertiliser during the upcoming Rabi season.

The food security officials informed the committee that the ministry had proposed the wheat support price of more than Rs3,000. The chair stressed that the early announcement of the support price would encourage wheat cultivation.

The additional secretary of the Food Security Ministry said that approval of the provinces was required to fix the support price, adding that the provinces’ approval was still awaited. The chair asked when the last meeting with the provinces was held.

However, a representative of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said that the provincial government had approved the proposal of setting the support price of wheat at Rs3,000. The committee was also informed that Punjab government had also supported the rate of Rs3000.

The members of the committee said that the Rs4,000 support price of wheat announced by the Sindh government was too high. The officials said that this year the wheat production was expected to rise by 1 to 1.5 million tons.

The committee directed the ministry to take steps to increase the quantity of certified seeds. The chairman also directed the ministry to announce the wheat support price before the end of September.