Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed strict action

 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed strict action

LAHORE: Giving credit to his government for a “bumper wheat crop” this season, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed strict action against hoarders, fearing they might create a shortage leading to panic buying in the market.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has commended his government for the successful wheat crop this season, which he claims is the highest output in a decade. In a tweet on Sunday, Mr. Sharif attributed the production of 27.5 million tones of wheat to the government's timely decisions, provision of quality seed, uninterrupted fertilizer supply, and Kisan package.

He has directed strict action against hoarders to prevent a shortage of wheat in the market. The prime minister aims to make Pakistan a wheat-exporting country after meeting domestic needs. He chaired a meeting to review the official wheat procurement drive, during which he directed the federal and provincial wheat procurement departments to procure maximum grain directly from farmers and increase their procurement target. He also sought financial resources from commercial banks.

The meeting was attended by federal and provincial ministers and relevant department officers. The overall availability of wheat for the year 2023-24 is expected to be around 29.6 million tones, reducing the import requirement to about 1 million tones, owing to the 2.1 million tones of grain carryover stocks.