Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday stated that there is a need to build six million metric tons of strategic wheat reserves, as the total public sector stocks depleted to less than three weeks of consumption level.
Tarin said this while chairing his first meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC).
According to the proceedings of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC), the strategic reserves can only be built by importing the commodity due to the predicted production of slightly over 26 million metric tons of wheat this year, which is already three million tons short of next year’s total consumption requirements.
During the meeting, it was disclosed that the total wheat stocks across the country were 647,687 metric tons as of last week, which at current consumption levels would probably last two-and-a-half weeks. The stocks would further deplete to 384,000 metric tons by the end of April – the time when harvesting of the new crop will be in full swing.
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Last year, the country had imported 2.16 million metric tons of the commodity to fulfil the domestic wheat requirements as the wheat production stood at 26 million metric tons which was not enough.
This year, Punjab’s stock was less than 400,000 metric tons, Sindh about 57,000 metric tons, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over 58,000 metric tons and PASSCO less than 140,000 metric tons. The Balochistan government did not any stock of wheat.
The meeting was informed that this year, the government would have to import three million metric tons to meet the country’s requirement as the wheat consumption is estimated at 29.3 million metric tonnes.
Tarin emphasized the importance of maintaining strategic reserves of essential commodities and ordered the provincial governments and departments concerned to work out estimates and procure wheat and sugar in a timely manner.
For this season, provincial authorities estimated wheat production at 26 million metric tons, Food and Agriculture Organization 26.4 million metric tons and Suparco27 million metric tons. But,it has been decided that the government will use 26 million metric tons to ensure smooth supplies throughout the year.
The provincial governments and Passco have also been ordered to procure g 6.3 million metric tons of wheat from farmers that will inject Rs700 billion into the rural economy.