Punjab ups target by 0.53m to 4.32m bags

SIALKOT
The Punjab government has fixed a wheat procurement target of 4,320,000 bags for Gujranwala Division, a hub of quality wheat, increasing the target by 530,000 bags as compared to that of the last year.
According to the Food Department, the official wheat procurement of wheat is likely to be started in Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad and Gujranwala districts from April 15, 2015.
Food officials said that the Punjab government had fixed an official wheat procurement target of 3.79 million bags for Gujranwala Division during the last year with a support price of Rs1,200 per maund. But the Food Department could purchase only 3,735,000 bags of wheat despite making hectic efforts including conducting sudden raids at the private warehouses of the wheat growers and small farmers.
Meanwhile, the target of wheat sale to the flour mills also could not be achieved in Gujranwala Division due to several flaws in the official policy. Now, as 1,450,000 bags of wheat yield of last year was still lying kept in all 150 warehouse of the Food Department in the division. The worth of the bulk quantity of wheat is stated to be Rs4.64 billion, officials added.
Ignoring the critical situation, the Punjab government has increased the target of official wheat procurement for Gujranwala Division despite reducing the target for the current season due to availability of bulk quantity of last year’s wheat yield lying kept in official warehouses.
The Punjab government has not yet announced the wheat support price to encourage the wheat growers and small farmers for this year. However, it was learnt that the Punjab government might increase the price from Rs1,200 per maund to Rs1,300 per mound.
Meanwhile, the department has sent a demand for 4,752,000 gunny bags for the wheat growers and small farmers before the start of the wheat procurement at all the 43 officials wheat procurement centres in Gujranwala Division.
According to Gujranwala Division Food Department Director Ch Naveed Ashraf, the supply of these gunny bags from Punjab government would be started within a week to the procurement centers. He said that 902,000 gunny bags would be supplied to Sialkot district, 2,431,000 to Gujranwala district, 451,000 to Narowal district, 308,000 to Gujrat district and 660,000 would be provided to Mandi Bahauddin district. He said that all the district food controllers had already been directed to make all the necessary arrangements for stocking these gunny bags and their transparent and easy distribution to the local wheat growers and farmers at local level.