Govt to tackle wheat cartels

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research with the help of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), would chalk out an action plan to tackle collusive market practices of wheat cartels, a statement said on Thursday.

The ministry has been working hard to eliminate gap between supply and demand of wheat, Food Security Secretary Omar Hamid Khan said during a meeting with CCP Chairperson Rahat Khan

The meeting discussed that Punjab has announced its interim wheat policy on July 2, 2020, while Sindh government might announce its Wheat Release Policy, soon.

“Government is exploring GTG wheat procurement/import from Central Asian countries. In addition to the private sector, public sector including provincial governments, PASSCO and Trading Corporation of Pakistan may instantaneously invite tenders/bids from the private sector for import of wheat in the country,” the statement said. The public sector has procured 6.596 million tons wheat in year 2020, while wheat stock on July 16, 2020 was 6.700 million tons. Comparatively, the stock was 7.711 million on July 16, 2019.