KP food department was ordered to buy 30,000 metric tons of wheat from the district       A combine deposit harvested wheat in a tractor trolley at a field. — Reuters/File

ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has refused to buy wheat at Rs3,900 per 40 kg from Punjab farmers.

Over 2,500 trucks loaded with over 12,500 wheat bags from Punjab are standing under the open sky in front of the provincial reserve centers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On May 31, Storage and Enforcement Officer In-charge, Provincial Reserve Center Peshawar, issued an office order which said that on the direction of competent authority, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Department has stopped buying wheat from the trucks standing in front of the centres. All assistant food controllers and other related staff were directed to stop the purchase of wheat after May 31.

According to an official letter by the Mardan DC, the KP food department was ordered to buy 30,000 metric tons of wheat from the district. “So far, 15,549 metric tons of wheat has been purchased. Over 300 large and small trucks are parked in front of Mardan reserve centres and warehouses. The wheat loaded on them is enough to purchase the remaining 14,500 tons of wheat, so an order is issued that no more trucks loaded with wheat should be allowed to enter Mardan. Therefore, a complete ban is imposed on the entry of wheat-laden vehicles coming from Punjab,” it added. According to the Pakistan Flour Mills Association, purchase of wheat has been banned in Mardan. A leader of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association, requesting anonymity, said that farmers from Punjab had reached KP with about 200,000 tons of wheat but the KP food department is not willing to buy it at Rs3,000. The provincial government had initially announced its purchase at Rs3,900/40 kg. The famers are forced to sell their produce at Rs2,400/40 kg now, he added.