HYDERABAD (February 28 2004): Sindh Food and Agriculture Minister Arif Mustafa Jatoi for the first time conceded that the province is faced with wheat crisis and hoped that it would be over shortly with the arrival of new crop.

He said that his department and private sector have enough wheat to meet the requirements but his claim lost credibility when his department failed to ease supply cool down prices, maintaining extremely high profile.

Commenting over the situation, Munir Ahmed Memon, Chairman of Sindh Flour Mills Association, said that if flour mills were not supplied wheat they would be constrained to cease the milling operation for non-availability of wheat, and the situation would further aggravate.

He said that irrespective of the claim of food minister, the ground realities are that most of the government grain warehouses are virtually devoid of wheat stock which can be judged that no wheat has been issued to flour mills and quota of small grinding units have been slashed with the result that wheat prices have recorded an increase of Rs 4 to Rs 6 per kg throughout the province.

The grain traders who gave a lower estimate of the wheat crop 2003-04 flayed the ban on private sector on trading in wheat and said it would have negative impact on free market economy.

Meanwhile, the people of Larkana district have strongly resented the supply of feed wheat to millers at the rate of Rs 827, against the state set price of Rs 850.50 per bag.

They alleged that supply of moth eaten and substandard wheat resulted in spread of stomach and intestinal diseases and demanded that the step-motherly treatment with the people of the district should be stopped.

The provincial Food Secretary, Muhammad Parhyar, when contacted, said that enough wheat stock is available with the department which would meet the wheat requirements up to March 15.

He said that wheat harvesting has started in parts of Mirpurkhas and Dadu districts, and by next month harvesting in major wheat growing districts would be started which would improve the availability of wheat.

He said that provincial food department has decided to procure 0.6 million tons wheat during the current wheat harvesting season.

Courtesy Business Recorder