Pakistan May Need to Import 2 Million Tonnes of Wheat

Pakistan May Need to Import 2 million tonnes of wheat from abroad to cover a shortfall that’s now estimated at more than 3.5 million tonnes. This came up during a Wheat Board meeting chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain.

Flour mill owners, traders, farmers and members of the Cereal Association all agreed on one thing: local wheat supplies simply aren’t enough right now. Most of them said imports are the only realistic way to stop wheat and flour prices from climbing even higher.

The non-official members at the meeting pushed the government to keep any import policy open and fair. Their main worry was that only a handful of companies might end up getting import permits. They insisted flour mills and traders across the board should get equal access, not just a select few.

The meeting, held in Islamabad, brought together chief secretaries from all four provinces along with senior food and agriculture officials from both the federal and provincial governments.

Rana Tanveer Hussain admitted that the government had hoped the Rs3,500-per-maund support price for wheat would be enough to stabilise things. Instead, prices in the open market have already crossed Rs4,400 per maund. He’s now asked the Wheat Board to reconvene in 15 days to take a fresh look at supply levels, pricing, and whether imports need to move forward.
From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the chief secretary shared that the province currently has just 30,000 tonnes of wheat left in stock. After requesting help from the federal government, KP received an additional 250,000 tonnes through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation. He also pointed out that Punjab alone supplies more than 70% of the flour KP needs.

In Sindh, the chief secretary said tighter supplies have already pushed wheat prices up in the province. Authorities there have started cracking down on hoarders and plan to review how effective that action has been.

Punjab’s chief secretary took a firmer stance, saying the province would keep affordable flour and bread as its top priority — even if that means putting development projects on hold. Meanwhile, Punjab’s agriculture secretary insisted the province had still managed to hit its wheat production target of 21.9 million tonnes.

But flour millers aren’t fully convinced. Representatives from the Pakistan Flour Mills Association argued that Punjab’s own restrictions and enforcement actions are actually part of the reason prices have gone up nationwide.

In a related development, an international aggregator hired by the Punjab Food Department has asked for permission to import wheat, aiming to help the province hit its procurement numbers. Reports suggest the Food Department is also expected to bring other approved aggregators into the process, so it doesn’t look like one company is being given special treatment.
Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, flour mills say they’re taking a serious hit. The local chapter of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association claims mills in the twin cities have already lost around Rs4 billion because of policies coming from the Rawalpindi Food Department.
The association is now warning of a full strike and protests if the government doesn’t stop forcing compulsory wheat procurement and continues with raids, fines, FIRs, and restrictions on moving wheat and flour. According to them, it’s simply not possible to sell a 10-kg flour bag for Rs1,075 when wheat itself is being bought at Rs4,600 per maund in the open market.
They say the price hike has already added Rs150 to every flour bag and Rs10 to every kilogram sold in Rawalpindi and Islamabad — and it’s not just millers complaining. Dealers, shopkeepers and everyday consumers are feeling it too.

The association also claimed that the Food Department procured around 200,000 wheat bags from mills in the twin cities at the official rate, even though Rawalpindi and Islamabad aren’t wheat-producing areas to begin with. They say this alone caused losses of Rs4 billion, and mills simply can’t keep up with further procurement demands on top of that.

On top of everything, the association pointed out that there’s technically no government ban on moving wheat products around — yet cases are still being filed against flour mills regardless.

Their final warning: if the government keeps trying to control prices through raids and enforcement, especially after weather damage already hurt this year’s wheat crop, it could end up disrupting supplies even more and putting even greater pressure on ordinary consumers.