Pakistan to Run Out of Wheat; Finance Minister Directs Authorities to Build Strategies to Boost Wheat Reserves

New Delhi: With the stocks lasting for less than three weeks of consumption, Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday underscored the need to build six million tons of strategic wheat reserves for the nation. 

In a National Price Monitoring Committee meeting, Tarin was informed about the nearing stock depletion of wheat. Currently, only 647,686 metric tons of wheat are stocked across the country that would last only for two and a half weeks. Sources reveal, by the end of April, the stocks would deplete to 384,000 metric tonnes. An analysis of the stocks presented, less than 400,000 metric tons in Punjab, 57,000 metric tons in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over 58,000 metric tons, and PASSCO less than 140,000 metric tons. 

The Finance Minister also delineated the importance of maintaining strategic reserves of essential commodities and directed the provincial governments and departments concerned to work out estimates and procure wheat and sugar in a smooth and timely manner.

The strategic reserves will have to be built by importing the commodity due to the estimated production of slightly over 26 million metric tons of wheat this year, which is already three million tons short of the coming year’s total consumption requirements, according to the proceedings of NPMC analysis.