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Cut in wheat output target
likely
 SLAMABAD:
The federal government is set to refix wheat target in the
wake of acute water shortage in the country and also to
streamline the strategy for its procurement in the coming
harvest.
The wheat target had been fixed around 20 million tons but it
could be brought down by about 25 to 40 per cent, officials
said.
A meeting of the federal committee on agriculture (FCOA) will
be held with the federal minister for food and agriculture
Khair Mohammad Junejo in the chair on March 18 to take stock
of the overall crops position and besides firming up the
production targets, would take decisions on procurement of
wheat strategy, official sources told Dawn on Wednesday.
The government continues to face the uphill task of disposing
of some 4.1 million tons surplus wheat despite the claims of
food department that it would get rid of at least 1.3 million
tons by end of current fiscal through private sector export.
No foreign country has offered to purchase Pakistani wheat in
bulk dooming the government's effort of early disposing of the
surplus wheat, as its quality had been declared substandard by
some countries like Iran and Iraq, sources told Dawn.
Another factor hampering the export of wheat, the sources say,
was the commerce ministry failure to introduce country's food
grains as exportable commodity at the right time nor had
planners taken pains to maintain the international quality
standards, officials said.
An official in the food department told Dawn that the
government expects to adjust a carry-over of 2.8 million tons
on May l, comparatively lesser then last year's 3.5 million.
Courtesy Dawn, Mar 07, 2002
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Pakissan.com;
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