MULTAN City News

Growers worried as govt delays wheat procurement drive
From Nadeem Shah
MULTAN: Growers fear a considerable decline in the wheat support price, as the Punjab government has still not launched its procurement drive in the wheat producing districts.
They fear they will be forced to sell their produce at Rs1,050-1150, instead of Rs1,300 per 40 kilogram support price, in the absence of a government procurement campaign.
The middleman is a key beneficiary in the present wheat exploitation game and poor procurement drive would be responsible for decline in the support price, they say. The Punjab Kisan Committee has strongly reacted to a very low support price and demanded the government ensure wheat procurement at the fixed support price of Rs1300 per 40-kilogram at any cost.
“No reasonable increase has been made in the support price and the government has largely disappointed growers and small land-holders, facing a continuous surge in the prices of inputs that have escalated the cost of production.
“The present wheat prices would not equate the cost of production, and inflict heavy losses on the growers,” Kisan Punjab Committee President Malik Iqbal said.
Grower Muhammad Hussain, a small land-holder, who has cultivated seven acres of wheat crop at Bosan Road, complained about a wide gap between flour and wheat prices.
“Flour is a by-product of wheat and its price has been increased by 100pc, compared with the wheat support price in the last three years,” Hussain said.
The price commodity index says the wheat support price has been increased by Rs350, compared with the flour price which has been increased by Rs1,360 per 40 kilogram in the last 5-6 years. Flour is available at Rs1,800 per 40 kg in the market compared with Rs424 per 40 kg in 2008.
Malik Iqbal has calculated Rs1,350-1400 per 40 kilogram wheat sowing expenses while the government has fixed support price at Rs1,300 per 40 kilogram. Growers also fear depletion in wheat support price due to import of wheat stock in December last year.
A stock of 5-million tonnes was stored in godowns when import order of 2 million tonnes of wheat was placed to Ukraine. The Ukraine could serve only 0.8 million tonnes of substandard wheat.
“The government should take action against the people involved in wheat import from Ukraine for making commission. Now the government is bearing $90 per 40 kilogram subsidy on wheat export,” Pakistan Kisan Ittehad President Khalid Khokhar told The News.
Farm experts revealed the federal government had refused the increase in wheat support price in March 2014, later the price was increased in November last after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Islamabad sit-in. The wheat price was increased only to win more sympathies of farmers in south Punjab. The prices were revised from Rs1,200 to Rs1,300 in November last, they said.
A senior peasantry movement leader Muhammad Ali Bhara said wheat support price has been frozen for the last two years compared to flour price, increasing unabatedly during this period. The government had frozen wheat support price at Rs1,200 per 40 kilogram due to sharp rise in petroleum, high power tariff in 2012. The wheat support price was once increased three hundred times from Rs425 per 40 kilogram in 2008 to Rs1,200 in 2012 during the PPP rule. The PPP government increased support price thrice during its rule from Rs425 in 2008 to Rs950 in 2010 and Rs1,150 in 2011, he added.
Multan Region Food Department officials said the government has planned distribution of gunny bags from April 20 across Punjab to ensure wheat procurement at to Rs1,300 per 40kg. Over 227,000 metric tonnes of wheat would be procured in Multan, they said.