Govt urged to release wheat stock to control prices

LAHORE: Fearing an imminent hike in wheat prices, Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) on Friday urged the government to release its stocks to keep the market under control.

“Almost ten months has passed since the last season’s crop. The market has now started to dry out,” said Ahmad Jawad, PBF Vice President, in a statement.

He claimed that wheat was quoted between Rs2,550 and Rs2,650 per maund in Punjab and also in some areas of Sindh too by the stockists.

Punjab Agriculture Department recently informed the wheat review committee that the province would not be able to achieve its revised sowing target of 16.7 million acres due to the increasing price of fertilisers.

Jawad said the government functionaries were terming the shortage of urea as a mere propaganda.

“Our repeated pleas to keep agriculture out of politics fell on deaf ears. Now everyone is seeing the disastrous results,” he added.

He viewed the artificial shortage of fertilisers in the different districts would affect per acre yield of wheat in the ongoing season.

“Pakistan’s coming wheat crop is under threat, as the farmers are facing acute shortage of urea since the start of the sowing season.”

Jawad said despite government’s claims, farmers were still paying Rs2,500-2,700 per 50kg bag as against the officially fixed rate of Rs1,768.

However, the government claims surplus availability of the commodity but growers fear persistent shortages will also hit the sugarcane and maize crops, which they termed as a bad omen for the sugar and poultry sectors.

“The federal authorities have failed to ensure the availability of both diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea fertilisers though Agriculture Department had flagged the issue well in time, in the month of September.”

He said farmers were the ultimate sufferers of the government’s mismanagement.