BY:ANI Correspondent:
ISLAMABAD–Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Farmers Wing Central Information Secretary Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich on Sunday warned that flawed government wheat procurement policies and administrative failures could trigger a severe wheat and flour crisis, with wheat prices potentially rising to Rs. 6,000 per maund and flour prices reaching Rs. 190 per kilogram or higher.
In a statement, Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich said influential middlemen had forced farmers to sell wheat at distress prices and were now in a position to manipulate the market, creating the risk of sharp price increases that would burden millions of consumers.
He claimed that despite announcing large-scale wheat procurement, the government purchased less than 10 per cent of the promised quantity from farmers and was now considering wheat imports through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), while substantial wheat stocks in PASSCO warehouses remained unused and were deteriorating.
Sadhraich said Pakistan could face a wheat shortfall of 3.5 million tonnes due to policy failures, forcing the government to spend between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion on imports, adding further pressure on the national economy.
He further alleged that although the Punjab government had pledged to procure 3 million tonnes of wheat, it ultimately purchased only 480,000 tonnes, allowing private traders to dominate the market after buying wheat from farmers at low prices.
Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich urged the government to regulate wheat stocks held by the private sector, release domestic reserves into the open market instead of relying on imports, and take immediate steps to protect both farmers and consumers from an avoidable wheat and flour crisis.
