Courtesy PID
Pakistan’s prime minister directs officials concerned to ensure required stocks of wheat, sugar stocks to meet demand
The government will ensure availability of wheat and sugar at affordable rates for the public, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday, as he directed all relevant departments to initiate crackdowns against anyone involved in hoarding of essential commodities.
Chairing a meeting to review existing wheat and sugar stocks; their availability; supply and demand; import plans for future requirements; and prevailing prices of essential commodities, he directed all provincial governments to ensure they had procured sufficient wheat to prevent any market shortage.
According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Khan was briefed on the current stocks of wheat, sugar, and their respective imports. He was also updated on the prices of daily use commodities for the average consumer. He directed authorities to submit a detailed schedule for importing wheat, and ordered provincial chief secretaries to conduct physical feasibility of the current sugar stock in all mills.
The meeting also directed the Punjab chief secretary to announce sugarcane crushing date at the earliest. It tasked the Punjab and Sindh chief secretaries to also announce the official price rate of the sugarcane as early as possible.
In addition to the prime minister, the meeting was attended by Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, National Food Security Minister Syed Fakhar Imam, Advisers to the P.M. Abdul Razak Dawood and Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistants Asim Salim Bajwa and Shahbaz Gill, and relevant secretaries and other senior officials. All provincial chief secretaries also attended the meeting via video-link.