WHEAT PROCUREMENT POLICY REVIEWED IN A HIGH LEVEL MEETING

PUNJAB PROVIDES WHEAT & FLOUR AS "FRUIT BASKET"

PM TO APPROVE FINAL PROPOSALS: ABDUL ALEEM KHAN

Senior & Punjab Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that various proposals are being considered for the procurement of wheat at the Government level for the next season in Punjab and efforts will be made to procure wheat and flour in more comprehensive manner to disburse to the flour mills. He added that such system would be evolved which ensure maximum direct benefit of procurement of wheat at the Government level to the common man. Abdul Aleem Khan was presiding over a high level meeting on procurement of wheat at the Government level here in Lahore. Apart from Provincial Ministers Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hussain Jahanian Gardezi, Hashim Javan Bakht and Chief Secretary Punjab, senior officers also participated in the meeting and presented various proposals for the wheat procurement drive in their respective departments.

Talking at the meeting, Senior & Food Minister Punjab Abdul Aleem Khan said that Punjab provides wheat and flour to all the provinces as "fruit basket" and from here the wheat goes to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan in every season. He said that the final approval of next year's wheat procurement policy would be given by Prime Minister Imran Khan to whom recommendations were being sent. Abdul Aleem Khan told that in this high level meeting various proposals have also been prepared for stabilizing the prices of wheat and flour so that the citizens would face minimum difficulties. He said that the Punjab Government has to bear heavy financial exchequer on the purchase wheat every year and keeping in view of past experience, various measures are being considered for procurement of wheat and supply to flour mills which will be finalized soon. He indicated that new policy would be applied to the forthcoming wheat procurement drive in Punjab.