Punjab government will ensure stability of flour price in the open market, as there is no reasonable justification for any increase in price by the flour mills in the existing scenario of wheat availability throughout the country.
This was stated by Senior Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab, Senator Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, while presiding over a high-level meeting, here on Sunday. The meeting reviewed the regulatory mechanism of wheat supply to the flour mills on support price quota regime.
Special Assistant to CM for Food Department Muhammad Mansha Allah Butt, Chief Secretary Punjab Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Chairman Planning & Development Javed Aslam, Provincial Secretary Food Irfan Ali and senior administrative representatives of the departments of Agriculture, Finance and Industries participated in the meeting.
Khosa directed the Food Department authorities to act upon the time-tested strategy adopted during the last season of wheat procurement in Punjab to ensure maximal facilitation to the cultivators particularly small growers both in availing gunny bags/polypropylene bags.
Giving briefing to the participants of the meeting, Secretary Food Punjab Irfan Ali disclosed that 1.9 million tons wheat stock was still available with Pakistan Agriculture Supplies and Storage Corporation (PASSCO) out of which one million ton wheat would remain preserved as strategic reserve. As far as the wheat availability situation in the province of Punjab was concerned, the provincial food department had a total stock of 4.527 million metric tons wheat procured in the last season out of which three million tons of wheat had been provided to flour mills in the province under a support price quota regime which would be continued in the coming months also, he added.
