Senators express concern over wheat export

ISLAMABAD: The members of Senate Friday expressed concern over wheat export with a view that it has increased the prices of wheat and flour. They were of the view the wheat was being sold at Rs1,050 per 40 Kgs ahead of the holy month of Ramzan.

They called upon the government to fix a limit of export otherwise it would have to import it from other countries to meet the demand. ANP leader Ilyas Bilour on a point of order said that wheat was available at Rs1,050 per 40 kgs in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, while earlier its price was around 900, adding that wheat export to Afghanistan and Russia has affected the prices of wheat inside the country. He said the stockiest have stored Gram in advance to sell it at high rate in Ramzan.

Rehmatullah Kakar said that export should not be done at the cost of people. The government has to keep a check on wheat smuggling and limit on wheat export so that wheat could be made available for the people. Minister for Food and Agriculture Israrullah Zehri said that since the ministry is being devolved so he has no update about the export limit, however, he added that earlier the export limit was three million tones and before initiation of devolution process a total 1.8 million ton was exported. He said the devolution committee would have accurate information about the export limit.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011