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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the provinces to meet wheat procurement targets by June 1.
Chairing a meeting on Monday, the prime minister expressed his displeasure over non-fulfillment of wheat procurement targets by the provinces.
The prime minister said the people cannot be put into trouble under any circumstances. He said the federal government will provide flour to the people at lower rates at all costs and a shortage of the commodity will not be tolerated.
PM Shehbaz Sharif directed the Minister for National Food Security to immediately constitute a committee for transparent distribution of imported wheat amongst the provinces. He directed to ensure the import of quality wheat.
Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government will also extend every possible support to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government whilst rising above politics, saying serving the poor people is our prime duty.
A week ago, the prime minister was informed of another wheat shortage as output is estimated to fall short of the target for this year by almost three million tonnes.
According to reports, wheat production is projected to be 26.173m tonnes against a target of 28.89m tonnes while the estimated consumption would be around 30.79m tonnes.
The meeting was informed that reduced area under wheat cultivation, shortage of water and fertiliser, and delay in the announcement of support price had led to a shortfall of two percent in production.
The oil price hike and an earlier-than-usual heatwave were cited as other factors responsible for failure to meet the wheat production target.
The prime minister has directed the authorities concerned to thrash out a strategy for stopping wheat theft and for the construction of silos for storage.
