Farmers slam restriction on wheat sale to private buyers

LAHORE: Wheat growers, overwhelmed with early harvest, on Monday accused the government of restricting the sale of staple food to private buyers.

Provincial food secretary declined to comment on the accusations when contacted by The News. Farmers however denounced restrictions imposed by the provincial food department on selling wheat in the open market.

“Farmers are being deprived of their due returns” due to what he called anti-grower policy of the present government, Hamid Malhi, president of Wheat Growers Association told this scribe. Dry weather and rising temperature led to early maturity of wheat. Farmers said wheat movement from one district to others is restricted.

Farmers have been encouraged to sell their produce in the open market instead of provincial food department following encouraging prices in the market. Wheat price in several districts of the Punjab – accounting for approximately 75 percent of the country’s total output – hovers around Rs1,300/maund at par with the official procurement rate. Wheat price is above Rs1,200/maund throughout the province. In Lahore, it has crossed Rs1,300/maund.

But, as growers are getting good returns from private buyers, the attraction of official wheat procurement drive has started to diminish. Therefore, the provincial food department is unlikely to buy wheat as per the target. The provincial food department planned to buy as much as four million tons of wheat under the procurement drive 2019. The provincial government removed condition of systematic buying of wheat from growers on lacklustre response of farmers and asked them to sell wheat as per their convenience. The Punjab government will purchase wheat from every farmer who will bring wheat to the procurement centre under a revised procedure to facilitate the farmers.

Veteran farmer Malhi said the provincial government did nothing to compensate losses due to massive damage to wheat crops. “And now most of the growers prefer to sell their produce to buyers at a price close to Rs1,300/maund, which is a good omen,” he added. “In this situation, the government should not interfere in the mechanism of open market.”

Farmers said seizure of truckloads of wheat from various districts would leave a bad massage and lead to destabilise grain market. The provincial government’s staffs are busy in coercing growers into selling wheat to the food department only. There should be no restrictions on buying and selling and movement of wheat in the province, they added. Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) also castigated the provincial government for taking steps against the interest of the farmers. “The officials of food department were in the deep slumber as they failed to start wheat procurement on time,” a KBP’s spokesman said, requesting anonymity. “And now when farmers have been able to sell their produce in the open market, undue hindrances are being created without any justification.”