Pakistan has imposed a 10 percent regulatory duty on the import of wheat, Pakistan Daily Time reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) had asked the prime minister to introduce the duty because the government wanted to discourage the import of a principal food, MINFAL Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said.

The decision was made at a time when many importers had already opened letters of credit for wheat import.

"The step has been taken because wheat farmers complained they were not getting the minimum price of wheat from the public and private sectors due to its easy availability, because of carryover stocks from the 2004-05 season," Bosan said.

In the previous fiscal year, the government allowed duty-free import of wheat despite the fact that the country had produced 21. 6 million tons of wheat.

The minister said that the measures would discourage wheat imports and would prompt the private sector to buy local wheat, ensuring the payment of a guaranteed minimum price set at 415 Rupees (about 6.9 U.S. dollars) per 40 kilograms of wheat.

Source: Xinhua