Wheat procurement delay criticised

ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed disappointment over the slow pace of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) in initiating the revised wheat procurement target of 400,000 tonnes.

Chaudhry Ahmad Jawad, the FPCCI's standing committee chief on agriculture, said that wheat farmers in Punjab are facing significant distress due to the delay.

"PASSCO has not yet initiated the revised wheat procurement target of 400,000 tonnes. The actions of PASSCO officials, who halted wheat procurement, contradict the directives of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif," Jawad said on a statement.

"Additionally, we have received several complaints regarding the previous wheat procurement target of 1.4 million tonnes. These complaints highlight the involvement of PASSCO zonal heads in favoring middlemen over farmers during the issuance of gunny bags."

The FPCCI has urged the Prime Minister's office to conduct a third-party audit of wheat procurement carried out by PASSCO officials and issue strict directives to PASSCO to initiate the revised wheat procurement process transparently.

"This will enable farmers, particularly in Punjab, to offload their wheat in PASSCO godowns," Jawad said.The FPCCI has also requested the government to revise the wheat procurement target by including an additional 200,000 tonnes to promote the economic welfare of the agriculture sector and include FPCCI representation in the wheat board.