Artificial wheat flour crisis playing havoc in Pakistan
Pakistan has enough stocks of wheat, and it is also importing wheat from abroad to make wheat supply steady in the market
By Chronicler
Islamabad
There is an abundance of wheat stocks in Pakistan which is at par with its requirement for now and for the coming months, but an artificial crisis is hitting Pakistan due to political and other interests of the people who are at the helm of affairs.
Media reports suggest Pakistan is facing a wheat flour crisis: Several media reports suggest that there is a flour crisis in Pakistan and the citizens have no other option but to buy wheat flour at exceptionally higher rates.
There is no doubt that in Pakistan, during the last year, wheat was cultivated on 94 percent of agricultural lands which paved the way for a six percent decrease in wheat production.
However, this shortage was bridged by the import of wheat and thus, there is no actual wheat crisis in the country.
Provinces supplying less wheat to market: The provinces are supplying less wheat to the market than their available capacity, generating a flour crisis in the country.
Less availability of wheat flour is also generating a food crisis in the country, especially in its rural areas.
It is being portrayed that there is a shortage of wheat in Pakistan, which is contrary to the facts and figures. There are enough wheat stocks in the country which, if used properly, would end the ongoing flour crisis.
The ongoing flour crisis in Pakistan is a man-made thing that could be overcome if the provinces make release of their wheat stocks to the market as per its demand.
Two vessels loaded with wheat reach Karachi Port: The two vessels loaded with wheat have already arrived at the Karachi Port. This wheat is being fumigated to make it friendly for human consumption, sources in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research reliably told the Chronicler.
These two vessels have arrived from Russia as part of government-to-government contact. Besides fulfilling other required formalities, the imported wheat would also be available in the market as soon as fumigation is completed.
Pakistan importing wheat: This is pertinent to mention here that the government of Pakistan is importing a total of 750,000 tons of wheat from different countries, including Russia. The current stocks of wheat in Pakistan stand at 4437,000 metric tons, which is enough for the entire population, the sources further revealed.
Meanwhile, by March this year, 450,000 tons of wheat imported from Russia will reach Gwadar Port.
Moreover, Pakistan is also importing wheat from other countries, and so far, 350,000 tons of wheat have already arrived at the Karachi port.
Twenty-six million tons of wheat was produced last year: Last year, Pakistan had a wheat crop of 26.38 million tons, sowed on 94 percent of viable agricultural land. Thus it had a shortfall of only six percent.
Currently, Punjab has 2.2 million metric tons of wheat stock which is enough for it for the next 100 days. A new wheat crop in Punjab would be available in the market in around 80 days.
Likewise, Sindh has 837 metric tons of wheat stock which is enough to cater the population for the next 90 days. The new crop of wheat for Sindh would be available in the market in 70 days.
Moreover, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has 646,000 tons of wheat stock which is enough for the next 150 days of consumption. The new crop would be available in the market in around 90 days.
PASSCO offers provinces more wheat: The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) has offered the provinces a supply of more wheat, and they have already started availing of this facility.
According to the sources in the food ministry, the provinces aren’t releasing the daily wheat quota to the market as is required at the moment. They said this phenomenon is creating an artificial shortage of wheat in the country and creating unrest amongst the citizens.
Otherwise, enough wheat is available in the stocks to cater to the needs of the country’s entire population.
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