KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Thursday fixed wheat procurement target for the province at 1.4 million tonnes.
The provincial cabinet session, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, also approved the purchase of 80pc polypropylene bags and 20pc jute bags.
Food Minister Hari Ram Kishori Lal informed the cabinet about availability of 0.8 million tonnes of wheat in food department stocks. “Sufficient wheat stock is available with the food department till the new crop,” the minister added.
The provincial cabinet refuted allegations of wheat hoarding against Sindh from the federal officials. “Wheat crisis in the country was caused by the ‘missing six million tonnes’ from the wheat stocks of Punjab,” the cabinet session claimed. “The Centre should avoid holding Sindh responsible for unaccounted wheat stocks in Punjab.”
The cabinet also prepared a committee to review the available wheat stocks in the province. The committee, comprising Hari Ram Kishori Lal, Mukesh Chawla, Shabbir Bijarani and Ikramullah Dharejo, will submit its detailed report on wheat stocks within two weeks.
The Sindh cabinet had in an earlier session fixed a minimum procurement support price at Rs2,000 per 40kg to encourage local growers to cultivate more wheat.
