NPMC wants same wheat support price in Sindh, Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) has directed the Minister for National Food Security and Research, Tariq Bashir Cheema, to work out modalities in Sindh and Punjab for convincing them to fix just one support price of wheat for the Rabi crop.

Sindh has sought Minimum Support Price of wheat in the range of Rs4,000 per ton, while the Punjab has fixed it at Rs3,000 per ton, for the Rabi crop in the current fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, the support price of wheat stood at Rs2,200, however, the marketprice of domestic wheat hovered around Rs2,500 to Rs2,700 on an average.

The CPI based inflation hovered over 27.3 percent while the SPI stood at over 42 percent on weekly basis. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was still using flour price of Rs980 per 20 kg bag, but in reality, the prices still varied.

According to the official press release issued by the Ministry of Planning, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday directed the concerned stakeholders to ensure smooth distribution of essential commodities among the masses after the recent floods. “There should be no speculation over the hike of prices in the market and distribution of essential commodities should not be delayed at any cost,” said the minister, while directing the concerned stakeholders to take stern action against the responsible who are hoarding in the market. “Chief Secretary of all provinces are directed to ensure that there should be no hoarding of essential items particularly wheat,” said Ahsan.

During the meeting, the minister was informed that after the import of tomatoes and onions, the prices have decreased in the market. The minister also directed the Ministry of Food & Industries to help reduce the price of palm oil. “The results are not seen on the ground after a decrease in palm oil prices,” he remarked.