Punjab requests Centre to allow wheat exports to Pak

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday pleaded with the Centre to take an early call on allowing export of wheat to Pakistan and other CIS countries through Attari Integrated Check Post.

Badal said  the Empowered Group of Minister that was meeting Wednesday to take a decision on allowing export of sugar and cotton should also contemplate exporting wheat as this year Punjab and other wheat producing states were set to witness record production. He said Punjab was facing storage crisis as the centre had failed to activate Railways to move last season’s paddy stock from the state’s warehouses.

Punjab is expecting to cross the target of 115 lakh tonnes of wheat procurement this year. Seeking an early and positive decision on this issue, Badal said that this move besides improving trade ties with Pakistan would open new vistas of growth of the country.