The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has ignored the request of the Government of Punjab thrice for wheat provision for the province. This was stated in a letter by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parvez Elahi, to the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
CM Punjab requested the Prime Minister to intervene in the situation and ensure the timely provision of wheat to replenish the stocks to maintain necessary releases over the entire season, as the province’s available stocks had reached a low of 2.85 million tons.
According to the letter, the Punjab government approached the Food Ministry first on June 18, 2022, when 1.0 million tons of indigenous wheat was demanded through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (PASSCO); second, on September 19, when imported wheat was demanded as advised by the Ministry; and third, on October 4, to provide 1.0 million tons of wheat either through PASSCO or the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).
The letter states that “repetitive regrets from the Ministry, especially at this eleventh hour on 29th September 2022 has raised concerns.”
The CM requested the approval of 1.0 MMT of wheat for Punjab and has also requested the Prime Minister to instruct the Food Ministry to immediately provide 0.3 million tons to the province through PASSCO.
