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Summary
The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) on Tuesday approved support price of Rs 950 per 40 kg for wheat, besides approving the price for paddy crop for the year 2009-10. The ECC met in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Petroleum and Privatization, Syed Naveed Qamar also approved the wheat procurement target of 7.5 million tons to benefit the farmers. Later briefing newsmen, Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal said that ECC also discussed the issues related to mechanism for procurement of paddy crop 2009-10 and directed PASSCO to immediately set up paddy procurement centers in the key paddy growing areas in consultation with the concerned provincial authorities. The government, he said, this year also fixed the support price of wheat at Rs 950 per 40 kg so that the common man is not affected due to increased prices of the commodity in the local market. Gondal said that last year the procurement target was fixed at 6.5 million tons while the government procured about 10 million tons. This year the government has decided to procure 7.5 million tons wheat from the farmers at the announced price of Rs950 per 40 Kg to benefit and encourage the growers, he remarked. Nazar Muhammad Gondal said that this year the ECC has approved Rs 600 per 40 kg for Irri-6, Rs 1250 per 40 Kg for Basmati while Rs 1000 for Basmati-386 per 40 Kg. He said it would be the responsibility of the provincial governments to implement the announced prices for the growers and the role of the middle man should be eliminated. Replying to a question, the Minister said that there was still ban on the export of wheat, however, the government has only allowed the export of wheat by-products of 200,000 tons this year.
