Following the directive of Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Saturday, the support price of wheat in the province has been set at the same level as in other provinces.
Now, the support price of wheat has been fixed at a minimum of Rs4,000 per 40 kg. “The objective of this initiative is to increase the production of wheat by encouraging and providing financial support to farmers in the province,” said a statement.
Earlier, Rs6 billion had been released for the food department for the purchase of wheat during the current fiscal year. The provincial finance department would release an additional Rs2 billion for the food department.
Last year, the provincial government had provided free wheat seeds worth more than Rs2 billion to the farmers. Meanwhile, preparations for the timely purchase of wheat by the food department have been completed, the statement added.
For the process, around 23 centres have been established in four zones, which will purchase wheat under the supervision of four deputy project directors and 23 in charges of centres.
According to the statement, a notification for the appointment of project director will be issued by Sunday. Moreover, Section 144 will be enforced from April 1 till the completion of wheat procurement.
Earlier, a news report said that Sindh and Punjab had forced the federal government to raise the wheat support price by setting their own rates, which raised serious concern for the latter.
The Sindh government notified the support/ procurement price of wheat crop 2023 at Rs4,000 per 40 kg on February 9. Later, the Punjab government announced the procurement price of wheat crop at Rs3,900 per 40 kg on Feb 25.
Taking notice of the two different prices, the federal government approved the wheat price of Rs4,000 per 40 kg.
Sources said that the federal government raised serious concern over the different wheat prices, stepping in to set a uniform price to remove hurdles in the way of wheat procurement by Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) in the two provinces.
In a recent meeting, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet discussed the matter threadbare, observing that there should be uniform price for the procurement of wheat in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2023.
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