The Sindh government has decided to purchase wheat from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) after the province faced a shortage of more than 1.6 million metric tons.
According to reports, the government will buy wheat stored by PASSCO from the 2024 crop at a rate of Rs4,150 per 40 kilograms.
Earlier this year, the Sindh government had fixed the wheat procurement price at Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms for farmers. However, many farmers chose not to sell their crop to the government because of the lower price.
PASSCO has offered to provide 220,665 metric tons of wheat to Sindh. The provincial government had aimed to procure one million metric tons this year but is now buying wheat at Rs650 more per 40 kilograms than its earlier fixed rate.
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To meet the shortfall, the Sindh government has also decided to import 500,000 metric tons of wheat from abroad. The provincial cabinet approved the import plan a day earlier.
According to the Food Department, Sindh requires 6.53 million metric tons of wheat each year, while this season’s production has crossed 4.7 million metric tons. The province also has 140,000 metric tons of old wheat in reserve.
Officials said the Food Department could not buy enough wheat from local farmers because prices in the open market were higher than the government’s procurement rate. As a result, wheat imports have become necessary to address the shortage.