ICCI urges Govt. to allow private sector import of wheat for averting flour crisis

  • June 04, 2020
Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has demanded of the government to allow the private sector to import wheat in order to avert any flour crisis that could arise in the country. He said that Punjab government had set a target of 4.5 million tonnes of wheat procurement, however, so far it has procured only 4.1 million tonnes of wheat against the target of 4.5 million tonnes. He said that every year, flour mills were procuring wheat from middlemen for their own use, but this year, under the guise of Hoarding Ordinance, the administration of each district was conducting raids to confiscate wheat purchased by flour mills from the middlemen for their own use. Muhammad Ahmed Waheed further said that flour mills were purchasing wheat from middlemen @ Rs.1700 per 40 Kg, but government was forcefully purchasing from them @ Rs.1400 per 40 Kg. He said that flour mills were not allowed to keep sufficient stock as only one day's stock was allowed to them despite the fact that each flour was given permit of 100-ton wheat. He said this policy of government was likely to create flour crisis in the country. He appealed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and Federal Minister for Food Security Syed Fakhr Imam to allow the private sector to import wheat as there was a shortage of about 2 million tonnes of wheat this year. ICCI President said that after the coming out of FIA ​​inquiry report, the bureaucracy was also in a state of panic and no officer was ready to take any risk. He further said that wheat in Islamabad comes from other districts due to which flour millers have to deal with police and administration of about five districts. He said the wheat purchased by flour mills of this region at expensive rates was forcibly added to the government stock, which was unjustified. He said such tactics would deal a severe blow to private investment and could exacerbate the flour crisis in the upper districts. He strongly appealed to the relevant government authorities to allow flour mills to keep stock of two months besides permitting them to import wheat without delay so as to avoid any flour crisis.