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Friday March 29, 2024

Wheat support price in Punjab increased to Rs1,800

By Munawar Hasan
February 14, 2021

LAHORE: The wheat support price in Punjab has been increased to Rs1,800 from Rs1,650 on Saturday.

Punjab Senior and Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said the decision to increase the per maund support price of wheat in Punjab from Rs1,650 to Rs1,800 will be a welcome step for farmers.

He said here on Saturday that full credit for the initiative must go to Prime Minister Imran Khan, who gave the final approval for the increase in the wheat price in Punjab.

Abdul Aleem said the vision of prime minister was to give maximum compensation to the farmers for wheat so that they could prosper and get full reward for their hard work. He said in order to increase the wheat price in Punjab, detailed consultations were held with the stakeholders as per the instructions of the prime minister. Keeping in view all aspects, wheat price was being increased by Rs150 per maund for the upcoming crop, he said adding that the Food Department was formulating a policy for the next year in collaboration with the flour mills and it would be ensured that wheat and flour was available in the market in large quantities throughout the year.

Aleem said that the import of wheat on the PM direction this year helped stabilise prices of flour in the market and 20-kg bag of flour was provided across Punjab at fixed rates.

The price of 20kg flour bag may jump by Rs150-200 following upward revision to Rs1,800 per maund or 40-kg in the minimum support price of wheat in the Punjab province.The upward trend in the price of flour from present rate of Rs860 per 20-kg bag may start to witness at retail level in a month’s time, said market insiders. It is feared that price of wheat flour bag may ultimately cross Rs1,000 mark. As soon as wheat harvesting begins in the Sindh province from mid-March, grain prices would gradually increase in the country. This will primarily be done in the backdrop of the Sindh government decision to hike the wheat support price to Rs2,000 per maund for 2021 crop from earlier price of Rs1400, they added.

Next five to six months are feared to be tough for consumers, given the fact that wheat price would increase by Rs400-600 per maund in the market. There will be no issuance of subsidised grains from the public sector warehouses to flour mills in most part of this duration. The Punjab government may resort to introducing Ramazan package for provision of highly subsidised flour in the market for up to 40 days, which may result in stabilising price of flour to some extent.

Meanwhile, stakeholders have welcomed the move of increasing wheat support price by the Punjab government, but also cautioned about price-hike of flour. Majid Abdullah, a progressive flour mill owner, said that there would be gradual price-hike of flour as a result of boosting minimum support price of wheat by the Sindh and Punjab governments. He estimated that price of wheat flour might go up by Rs150 to Rs200 per 20kg bag starting within a month. He said the decision to enhance rate of locally produced wheat was relatively good decision as imports could be avoided. However, he said, consumers would have to pay much more for flour due to this step. He asked the government to increase wheat release price gradually so price of flour could be increased in phases, saving consumers from shoot up of prices.

Khaleeq Arshad, another progressive flour mill owner, said that the government should continue to import wheat before start of harvesting season in order to build reasonable carry-forward grain stocks. This step could help in cooling off wheat market to some extent. Otherwise, he warned, a steep increase in wheat flour price is very much likely.

Also, farmers have welcomed the move. Ibrahim Mughal, Chairman Agri-Forum Pakistan, said sanity prevailed, as the government finally opted to give due return to farmers. Instead of importing grains, he added, it is better to give benefit of high international prices of wheat to local farmers.

Commenting on the increase in wheat support price, a spokesman for the Punjab Food Department said the welfare of farmers and consumer was the priority for the government. The support price of wheat was being increased from Rs1,400 to Rs1,800, and its credit goes to Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the government would continue pro-farmers policies.