Wheat Import Scandal: Punjab govt decides against buying wheat from farmers

LAHORE: Sources in the Punjab Food Department have said that the Punjab government has no intention to buy wheat from farmers.

According to sources in the Food Department, Punjab has 22 lakh 70 thousand tons of wheat or one year’s worth of wheat. Given this, how can Punjab afford to purchase more wheat?

Punjab is required to repay a debt of Rs355 billion for wheat, and an annual markup of Rs125 billion is paid on wheat purchases. The cost of processing and storing wheat exceeds Rs1 billion.

The sources claim that Maryam Nawaz, the chief minister of Punjab, prefers to work directly with farmers rather than through intermediaries because the government cannot advance intermediaries’ interests at the expense of farmers’ rights.

According to the sources, farmers will receive additional benefits, like as the Kisan Card, in exchange for saving billions of rupees. Additionally, according to officials in the Food Department, 95% of farmers’ wheat had been sold.

The reports claim that the farmers’ wheat was not sold since smuggling had stopped and imported wheat had arrived.

Read More: Wheat import scandal: Inquiry committee to submit report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today