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KARACHI: The government of Sindh on Thursday increased the minimum wheat procurement price to 2,000 rupees per 40 kilogrammes.
A meeting of the Sindh cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah decided to increase the support price in order to avoid a shortage of wheat next year and prevent unnecessary imports.
Secretary Agriculture Rahim Soomro said that Punjab and Balochistan governments have recommended the minimum support price at Rs1700 per 40 kg. He said the support price was Rs1300 per 40 kg from 2015-18 and was increased to Rs1400 in 2019.
Agriculture Minister Hari Ram said the imported wheat is bought at a price of Rs5,000 per 40 kg which results in the loss of precious foreign exchange and was lower in quality than local wheat.
The chief minister said the federal government is spending on imported wheat but was unwilling to spend on local farmers. The cabinet unanimously agreed to increase the minimum support price to Rs2000 per 40 kg.
The cabinet also discussed the minimum support price for sugarcane. The meeting was informed that Punjab has set the price at Rs200 per 40 kg.
The cabinet approved to set the price at Rs202 per 40 kg. It was also decided to start the sugarcane crushing season from 30th November.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday set the minimum wheat procurement price to 1,600 rupees from Rs1,400 to Rs1,600 per 40 kg – an increase of Rs200 or 14.3%.
A meeting of the federal cabinet deferred the decision for two days after the prime minister directed that all provinces be taken on board on the matter.
