LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Industry and Trade Sheikh Allauddin has said that the prices of tomato have declined significantly in recent days and the supply of new crop to Punjab from Sindh in 15 days will drop the rates. Chairing a meeting of the price control committee at the Civil Secretariat, he expressed satisfaction over the rates of vegetables and fruits. Punjab Chief Secretary Captain (r) Zahid Saeed, Livestock Secretary Naseem Sadiq and other officers concerned attended the meeting. The meeting was informed that the government gave 50 percent subsidy on the cultivation of tomato tanks. “There is 38 percent supply of tomatoes from Sindh, but at present the production is coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Tomatoes’ wholesale retail rate in the market is Rs 74, which has decreased,” the minister said. The livestock secretary said that all necessary steps would be taken to protect the poultry industry, especially for small farmers. Permission to consider poultry prices at the district or local level could also be considered, he said. “There are 6,000 poultry farms in Punjab, and there is a need for several steps to strengthen the poultry industry.” The minister said that the Punjab government would balance the rights of both the farmer and the consumers, ensuring the interests of small poultry farmers. He said that it was a fact that the people of Punjab had faced a lot of problems due to shortage of tomatoes, but now this problem would be solved soon. Published in Daily Times, October 24th 2017.