LAHORE, Jan 4: Farmers on Wednesday criticized the ECC decision to continue duty-free wheat import, terming it “anti-growers and counter-productive for agriculture of the country.” On the other hand, the government officials concerned insist that the decision was necessary to keep the domestic market stable and it would not hurt the wheat growers.

Ibrahim Mughal of the Kissan Board Pakistan maintains that the ECC decision is motivated one. The import mafia has taken better of it, and has done so at the cost of the farmers.

“The public sector has around 3.5 million ton stock, leave alone the private stockists,” he said. Next crop was due within next six weeks as lower Sindh started wheat harvest by mid-February, he added. The country could not consume more than 500,000 ton a month. By that measure, Pakistan needed less than one million tons of wheat and would be left with over two million tons of stocks by the end of February when fresh crop would hit the market, he said.

In these circumstances, Mughal said, it was cruel on the government’s part to continue with wheat import. The policy might trigger price crash next season, he feared. The policy was tantamount to favouring foreign farmers at the cost of Pakistani growers, he maintained.

Farooq Ahmad Bajwa of the Farmers Associates Pakistan said the government should stop importing wheat, at least till it exhausted its own stocks. He claimed even if the government stopped importing wheat, it would still be carrying healthy carry forward stocks to keep it comfortable in any situation. It was a matter of 5.3 million families growing wheat in the country over 20 million acres, he added.

The government should not forget that it imported sugar at the height of crushing season in 1999 and it took next four years to clear the glut. The present decision might do the same with the wheat market, he insisted.

Federal Wheat Commissioner Qadir Bukhash Baloch, however, said the decision was taken after a careful reading of the market and in the context of official policy. The government wanted to keep a buffer stock of one to two million tons, he added.

Baloch said there was no denying that the public sector held healthy stocks, but they were made possible only because of 300,000 tons of private import.

He said the private sector had finalized deals for 750,000 tons and imported 300,000 tons so far, while the remaining 450,000 tons were still in the pipeline. The government was continuing with the duty-free import keeping in view the domestic market realities, he added.

On the other hand, the 15 per cent regulatory duty on flour export to Afghanistan had been withdrawn, which should also help consume any extra stocks in the country, he said.