Tag: wheat crisis

  • PM orders inquiry on wheat import last year

    PM orders inquiry on wheat import last year

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry committee to investigate the import of wheat last year under caretaker setup despite abundant harvest.

    Shehbaz appointed Secretary Cabinet Division Kamran Ali Afzal as head of the probe body.

    “What led to the import of wheat despite abundant production,” the prime minister inquired.

    Farmers in Punjab have staged protests because the government is not buying wheat crops from them at the agreed-upon rates.

    “All necessary measures should be taken for buying wheat and farmers should be compensated for their hard work soon,” Shehbaz assured.

    Importantly, Shehbaz has removed Federal Secretary National Food Security and Research Division Captain (R) Muhammad Asif from his post on the issue of wheat import during the caretaker government.

    Asif is a Grade 21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service. He has been made OSD.

  • Caretaker setup allegedly profited 85 billion in Wheat Crisis Scheme

    Caretaker setup allegedly profited 85 billion in Wheat Crisis Scheme

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Aon Abbas has claimed on a talk show on Geo News that the previous caretaker government was singlehandedly responsible for creating the current wheat crisis in Punjab.

    Abbas revealed, “The caretaker government on 22 October 2023 imported 34 lakh ton wheat from Ukraine at the rate of Rs 3,100 per ton and sold it in Punjab at Rs 4,500 per ton.”

    The senator alleged that after this massive profit, the past caretaker government imposed strict rules on buying wheat from local farmers.

    “There was somebody in the caretaker setup who planned this entire scheme by getting import LCs (letter of credit) opened for Ukrainian wheat and made a profit of 85 billion.”

    Senator Talal Chaudhry from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) agreed with the PTI senator and said “The Prime Minister has ordered an inquiry into this matter and the Punjab government is also a victim like the farmers because this crisis was created by others.”

  • ‘Punjab exported wheat on Asad Umar’s orders’

    ‘Punjab exported wheat on Asad Umar’s orders’

    In his first media encounter after resigning as Punjab food minister, Samiullah Chaudhry has claimed that Asad Umar, as then federal finance minister, had asked for exporting wheat despite his opposition, Dawn reported.

    Threatening to expose the forces involved in the wheat flour report conspiracy, he said the inquiry committee never wished to summon him for investigation.

    “Asad Umar as federal finance minister had chaired a high-level meeting in Islamabad early last year and asked for exporting some of the wheat stocks, 7.2 million tonnes in Punjab at that time. I opposed the move because the government would have to offer subsidy for the export [for the grain being costlier than the world prices],” he said while speaking to a private media outlet.

    “I said the country could not afford to give the subsidy and suggested rather selling out the same stocks in the local market [for the benefit of the local population],” he said, adding that flour mills in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) still enjoyed subsidised wheat at the cost of Punjab’s exchequer.

    The former minister maintained that he had also asked the inquiry committee to also include this fact in its report.

    In his reaction to the allegation, now Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said it was not his personal but a collective decision taken on the condition that prices won’t be allowed to be increased in the local market. He said the decision was first taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and then endorsed by the federal cabinet.

  • Imran vows to go after profiteers as he delivers on promise of probing sugar, wheat crises

    Imran vows to go after profiteers as he delivers on promise of probing sugar, wheat crises

    Fulfilling his promise of ensuring transparency and accountability in governance, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has not only made the inquiry reports into the sugar and wheat shortage public but also ordered the formation of a commission to conduct a forensic audit of the sugar mills, including JDW that is owned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Tareen.

    As per the details, a report by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday claimed that top PTI members were among those who gained from the recent sugar crisis in the country. An investigation into the crisis had been ordered by Prime Minister Imran Khan in February.

    Among the people named in the FIA report are Tareen and Makhdum Omer Shehryar, a relative of Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar, Geo reported.

    According to the report, sugar price was increased from Rs 55 per kg in December 2018 to Rs 71.44 per kg in June 2019, despite the fact that the General Sales Tax (GST) increase was implemented from July 1, 2019. After the export of sugar in January 2019, its price started increasing immediately in the local market.

    The major beneficiaries of the subsidy offered by the government on export of sugar include RYK Group, owned and controlled by Shehryar, which availed 15.83 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs3.944 billion. Chaudhry Munir and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) senior leader Moonis Elahi are also partners in this group.

    JDW Group owned and controlled by Tareen availed 12.28 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs3.058bn, while Hunza Sugar Mills availed 11.56 per cent of the total subsidy amounting to Rs 2.879bn. Hunza Sugar Mills is owned by Muhammad Waheed chaudry, Idrees Chaudhry and Saeed Chaudhry.

    Sugar mills owned by the Sharif family availed 5.91 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs1.472bn.

    The document does not mention under whose influence the Punjab government issued subsidies to sugar mills or why the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) approved the decision to export sugar.

    Reacting to the report, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said he has faith that whatever the situation, PM Imran “will ensure justice”.

    Tareen, PTI’s former general secretary, said that out of the Rs3 billion subsidy to the sugar mills, Rs2.5 billion were given when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in power.

    Meanwhile, it has been reported that the commission due to submit its report on April 25 has started working and nine teams are already on the ground for carrying out forensic analysis of 10 sugar mills, including Alliance Sugar mills Ghotki, Al-Arabia Sugar Mills Sargodha, Al-Moiz 1 Sugar Mills DI Khan, Al-Moiz 2 Sugar Mills Mianwali, Hamza Sugar Mills RY Khan, Hunza 1 and Hunza 2 Sugar Mills Faisalabad and Jhang, and JDW 1,2, and 3 Sugar Mills RY Khan and Ghotki.

  • VIDEO: PML-N’s Azma Bokhari hits back, tries to find atta at stores; PTI files lawsuit

    VIDEO: PML-N’s Azma Bokhari hits back, tries to find atta at stores; PTI files lawsuit

    The PML-N Azma Bokhari vs. Punjab Food Authority Chairman Umar Tanveer continues as Azma searches stores for the atta promised by PTI. The two had a big argument on a talk show which led to Umar dropping off bags of atta outside Azma’s house. Azma and Umar sparred once more on talk shows after the event, with Azma saying that PTI was trying to harass her and Umar saying that Azma lied and tried to malign PTI by saying atta was not available in stores.

    Umar Tanveer filed a defamation suit against Azma, saying that she had made false allegations against him in a talk show, alleging that he had given and taken bribes for political gains. He has filed a 10 crore law suit against her.

    The legal notice to Azma
    Umar Tanveer is askign for 100 million rupees in damages

    Meanwhile Azma visited stores, asking shopkeepers if they had any atta.

    WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

    Azma Bokhari at stores asking for atta
  • VIDEO: Punjab govt sends bags of atta to PML-N Azma Bokhari’s house amid wheat crisis

    VIDEO: Punjab govt sends bags of atta to PML-N Azma Bokhari’s house amid wheat crisis

    The country is facing one of the biggest wheat crises in Pakistan’s history with a bag of atta costing a record high of Rupees 75 per KG. Amid the wheat crisis, PML-N’s member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Azma Bokhari was engaged in a heated debate on a television talk show with the Chairman of Punjab Food Authority and PTI MPA Umer Tanveer Butt.

    PML-N’s Azma Bokhari telling PTI’s Omar Tauseef to send a bag of atta to her house since she was unable to find it in Model Town

    Azma said that there was a wheat crisis in the country and Umer refused to accept it, saying there was no shortage. Azma then said that if there was no shortage, then he could send a bag of atta to her house.

    We called Azma to confirm the following story. She says that when she woke up this morning, she was told by the cook in her house that a truck had come with bags of atta. The bags were being unloaded outside her house and her cook told her that he had bought a bag from them for Rs. 790 a bag. Others living on the street had also come by to buy bags of atta.

    Bags of atta were dropped outside Azma’s house by Umer

    Azma says that she went out and asked the people unloading the bags to take the bags and leave. They said that they had “been instructed” to leave the bags outside her house and sell it to people living in the area. She ordered them to leave her property and says that this was an attempt to “harass” her.

    But according to Food and Authority Chairman Umer Tauseef, who was on the program with Azma, they weren’t harassing her and that she is “once again, using the harassment card”.

    READ MORE: Interactive: What is this wheat crisis?

    Umer says that she asked for a bag of atta on the show, saying that people in Model Town were not finding atta anywhere. He says that there is no wheat crisis and therefore, bags are available everywhere and to prove his point, he sent bags of atta to her house so people living in Model Town could have access to it.

    When asked if PTI was trying to divert attention from the real issues, like a looming wheat crisis, he said that this was, “PML-N’s propaganda machine” at work and challenged to show him “one place where atta is not available”. He denied that there was any wheat crisis and said that the prices had increased due to the fact that the government had removed subsidies from certain forms of wheat.

    READ MORE: President Arif Alvi says he does not know who is responsible for the wheat crisis

    Umer Tanveer is denying that there is a wheat crisis but other ministers of the PTI have stated that there is a shortage of wheat in the country.

  • INTERACTIVE: What’s this wheat crisis?

    INTERACTIVE: What’s this wheat crisis?

    As the price of wheat (atta and flour) reaches Rs75 per kilogram (kg) — the highest price recorded in Pakistan’s history — amid shortage, we have to ask: what is this crisis and what led to it?

    The crisis is huge because it hits a daily essential. Roti, bread, naans and puris, you name it, everything with any bit of flour or wheat in it is going to be affected, and prices are rising.

    What happened? A country that is rich in wheat production, exports millions of tonnes of wheat itself is now in a massive wheat shortage?

    It all started from projection vs. reality.

    Projection this year did not meet reality and was less than the previous three years

    It all started from the government projecting that the wheat production of 2018-2019 would be 25.2 million tonnes, which would be sufficient for the year. Pakistan also exports wheat and because the projected wheat crop was high, the country exported, 640,000 tonnes. Pakistan was supposed to export between 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes.

    The crisis began when Pakistan did not meet its projected figure. It produced 24.7 million tonnes due to bad management, poor coordination and the weather.

    So now all provinces are racing to save their stock. Punjab has imposed a ban on moving wheat to other provinces and reportedly, people who want to profit from the shortage, are hoarding the wheat to sell at a later stage when prices increase.

    The federal government is blaming the provinces for the shortage, primarily the Sindh government (Sindh is also the only province which is not under PTI rule) saying that the Sindh government bought a lot of wheat at the wrong time. The Sindh government is saying that Imran Khan is responsible because he allowed the extra wheat to be exported.

    Prices of 10KG of atta in four cities

    The next few months are going to be crucial for wheat. The price of wheat used to be around Rs45-50 per kg and is now Rs75. The government is now having to import wheat from other countries to make up for the shortage, and Twitter is not happy about it.

    The difficult news is that the wheat that we exported for around Rs24/kg, is now going to be imported for more than double the price.

  • ‘Stop eating roti,’ ex-PM suggests as wheat crisis continues

    ‘Stop eating roti,’ ex-PM suggests as wheat crisis continues

    In a dig at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has suggested people to stop eating roti in order to bring the country out of the persisting wheat crisis.

    Speaking to journalists at the accountability court, where he was presented by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scandal case against him, Abbasi said that people were only facing the consequences for electing the PTI to power.

    “What can they do other than not eating roti anymore?” he asked in response to a query regarding the wheat crisis that grips the country amid provincial and federal governments’ blame game.

    To another question about PM Imran Khan’s statement that his “salary wasn’t enough”, Abbasi said that the premier should give himself a pay raise.

    Earlier, an accountability court extended judicial remand of the ex-premier till February 4 in the LNG scandal. During the hearing, the court also sought report on the arrest warrant of absconder Shahid Islam from NAB.

    The judge remarked that indictment proceedings cannot be carried out due to one absconder.

  • VIDEO: President says he doesn’t know who is responsible for wheat crisis

    VIDEO: President says he doesn’t know who is responsible for wheat crisis

    President Dr Arif Alvi has said he doesn’t know who is responsible for the wheat crisis in the country, but he should have known about it.

    According to Geo, the president on Monday arrived at National Institute of Child Health (NICH) on a surprise visit along with his wife Sameena Alvi. The two were welcomed and given a tour of the hospital by Executive Director Dr Jamal Raza.

    Speaking to journalists later, the president said he was visiting the hospital on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s advice. “It is regrettable how patients have no other choice but to share beds for treatment and their families are being sent to buy medicines from outside the hospital,” he reportedly said.

    When asked about the condition of hospitals and the government’s apparent inability to bring relief to the masses, President Alvi said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was unaware of the economic conditions while making its promises ahead of 2018’s general election.

    To a question about the persisting wheat crisis across the country, the president said he had no idea who was to be held responsible for it. “But I should have known,” he added.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    WHEAT CRISIS:

    The PTI government was first warned of the ongoing wheat crisis in September last year when several high-ranking officials had suggested appropriate measures. The government had ignored the warning.

    Initially, the crisis appeared when Sindh decided not to procure wheat because different officials were facing corruption probes on account of its procurement. Meanwhile, Punjab had imposed a ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat.

    Keeping in view the situation, profiteers and hoarders started exploiting the situation and stock piling wheat.

    The federal government has refused to take any responsibility for the crisis, saying it is the domain of the provinces to procure wheat.