LCCI asks govt to define stock and hoarding in Anti-Hoarding Ordinance

• Business community was expecting that the government would have consultations with the trade bodies for necessary rectification.
• How the next crop of wheat would be sown when seed would not be available.
• Business community had always taken a strict stance against hoarding practices as they result in unnecessary shortages, especially of essential commodities and sudden price-hikes.

LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has called upon the government to define difference between stock and hoarding to stop misuse of recently promulgated Anti-Hoarding Ordinance.

He was addressing a press conference at the LCCI on Tuesday.

LCCI Senior Vice President Ali Hussam Asghar, Vice President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmad, REAP Chairman Shah Jahan Malik, Poultry Association of Pakistan Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Furqan, Seed Association of Pakistan Chairman Chaudhry Bilal Ahmad, Asia Pacific Seed Association President Tahir Saleem, LCCI Executive Committee Members also spoke on the occasion.

They said that recently issued ordinance had created unrest amongst the business community as there was no clear definition of difference between stock and hoarding. They said that business community was expecting that the government would have consultations with the trade bodies for necessary rectification.

They said that the seed companies were not allowed to purchase basic and verified seed of wheat. The Food Department was purchasing seed forcibly from growers of Punjab and Sindh. “How the next crop of wheat would be sown when seed would not be available,” they questioned.

They said that seed was not prohibited in the Anti-Hoarding Ordinance, but the Food Department authorities and the district administrations were not allowing private companies to lift the seed, which was laying the foundation of a crisis.

They said that the business community had always taken a strict stance against hoarding practices as they result in unnecessary shortages, especially of essential commodities and sudden price-hikes.

They demanded that the Anti-Hoarding Ordinance should not be used to hinder legal businesses, and the business community would ensure that there was no artificial shortage of rice, edibles and other commodities in the market. They said the rice and other commodities dealers would have to maintain stock at factories and warehouses for their smooth business operations and they should not be targeted because of those stocks.