Wheat: Punjab to export 1m tons initially

Punjab government all set to export surplus wheat as it gets go-ahead from federal government.

MULTAN: The Punjab government is all set to export surplus wheat as it has got the go-ahead from the federal government.

The step is being taken due to the escalating storage costs for the financially-handicapped province. One hundred thousand tons of wheat out of the initial target of one million tons will be exported while 500,000 tons will be sold to three major wheat exporters of the country who will be at liberty to either sell the commodity to flour mills in the country or export it, sources say. The Punjab government will bear transportation expenses of Rs600 per ton.

Wheat warehouses in southern Punjab have already brought down their surplus stock to zero, sources say. Farmers seem to be content with the government’s decision to export wheat as it would increase demand of the commodity while citizens are concerned, saying exports might jack up the price locally.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2011.