LAHORE: Anticipating low grain arrival at procurement centres, panic-stricken provincial administration in Punjab has issued instructions to seize private wheat to augment the government’s stockpile.

Administrations of districts have been given virtual control of wheat business in the province, as growers seem to prefer selling the grain to private buyers, who offer better rates compared to the official support price of Rs2,200/40kg.

Punjab has started seizing private wheat with a view to achieve its procurement target. In Gujranwala District, for instance, the assistant commissioner confiscated all the private bags in the grain market and ordered to fill the bags issued by the Punjab Food Department and transfer to the Government Wheat Procurement Centre.

The middlemen have been directed to refrain from private grain filling and sale of wheat till the respective target was achieved. In Kasur, check posts have been set up across the district to prevent transportation of wheat by private parties including flour millers.

It has been alleged that the authorities were harassing wheat traders, demanding bribe or else confiscating grains. According to market insiders, provincial administrative set up started to worry about potential failure in achieving wheat procurement target in the last couple of days due to two factors.

Farmers have been showing reluctance in selling wheat to the food department as traders were offering an additional Rs50-150/40kg on top of the official support price of Rs2,200/40kg at farm gate.

This made them question the wisdom of going through the trouble of packing wheat in special gunny bags and transporting to procurement centres. There too, the insider said they often found that the rate was cut on various pretexts.

The second factor was the very poor performance of Sindh Food Department and Passco in wheat procurement. The evolving grain market suggests that farmers were least interested to sell wheat to government agencies because they were able to fetch a very good price from private purchasers, and with much ease.

In this backdrop, civil administration in Punjab asked flour millers not to update their respective wheat buying at official portal. Instead, they were asked to submit whatever stock they owned to the food department with a view to aid the provincial government achieve its procurement target.

These instructions have been formally communicated in Lahore and Sheikhupura Districts. Each flour mill has been instructed to provide 1,500 bags of wheat to nearby procurement centre of the Punjab Food Department.

“Consequently, mills would bear the rate difference of Rs300/bag approximately, which eventually runs into Rs20 million for a miller,” alleged Majid Abdullah, a progressive flour miller.

He regretted that such steps were being taken against those flour millers who have proper permits and declared their stocks through online database. He cautioned that private wheat buying was indispensable for meeting flour requirement till September. Abdullah added that mills should have a stock of 1.3 million tonnes at least.

Khaleeq Arshar, a senior progressive flour miller, complained that they were not getting wheat due to administrative hiccups, while the price of the grain was already showing a higher trend instead of a lower trend.

“Wheat permits are not being issued to the flour mills as per demand with a view to meeting their daily wheat grinding requirements. Apart from achieving the procurement targets, the department should realise that the stocking by the genuine flour millers will ultimately help the department in the later months.”

Hoarding of wheat by those who were not flour millers should be discouraged. Secondly, strict monitoring was the need of the hour at inter-provincial borders, especially through motorways, he observed.

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