In the current season, wheat production in Pakistan is around 22.6 million tons. However, this production of wheat is insufficient for the needs of the country and the government has announced to import 3 million tons of wheat from abroad this year.
In the tender called by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, a government agency of Pakistan for the purchase of wheat from the world market, a minimum bid of $ 525 per ton was received for the purchase of 500,000 tons.
The lowest bid received by Pakistan for the purchase of wheat is due to the increased prices of wheat in the global market and according to people associated with the wheat business, at present there is a lot of wheat in the world market. The reason for the price is the war between Ukraine and Russia and both countries are among the largest exporters of wheat in the world.
According to them, Pakistan should not buy wheat from the world market at this time because the wheat crop has been harvested in a few weeks and the country has ample stocks of wheat for the next few months so Pakistan should wait a few months. Wheat prices are likely to fall in the near future as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ends.
According to wheat experts and their associates, if wheat is procured at current prices, it could affect wheat prices in the country and the government would have to provide subsidies to keep prices in check.
A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on wheat production. The total consumption of wheat at the national level is estimated at 30 million metric tons.
The meeting was informed that has achieved 91.66 per cent, Sindh 49.68 per cent, Balochistan 15.29 per cent and Pasco 100 per cent of the target for government procurement of wheat.
Due to lower wheat production than the local requirement, the federal cabinet approved the import of 3 million tonnes of wheat in the country.
It should be noted that last year the country produced 22.8 million metric tons of wheat, but this production was also less than the domestic demand, so Pakistan had imported 2 million tons of wheat from abroad.
After locally produced production, Punjab had set a target of purchasing 3.5 million tonnes of wheat and it has procured more than 5 million tonnes of wheat whereas on the other hand Sindh has a target of 1.4 million tonnes but so far Only 10 to 11 lakh tonnes of wheat has been procured.
According to a survey by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), world wheat production is expected to be around 708.2 million tonnes this year.
China and India are among the largest producers of wheat in the world, followed by Russia and Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s largest wheat exporters.
Wheat prices are currently hovering between $ 470 and $ 490 per tonne, the highest level in the world market, compared to $ 365-370 per tonne in February. It should be noted that Russia is the largest exporter of wheat in the world and Ukraine is the fourth largest exporter.
The minimum bid received by Pakistan in the tender issued by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan for procurement of wheat from the world market was offered at $ 515 per tonne and if Pakistan If Pakistan buys wheat at this price, then the price of this wheat in Pakistani currency becomes one lakh four hundred rupees per ton.
If the cost of transport from port to warehouses is also included in this price, then this imported wheat will cost Pakistan at the rate of 110,000 per tonne while the price of 40 kg wheat will be Rs. 4400 per kg. Report said that the subsidy price of wheat by the government in Pakistan this year is Rs. 2200.
The global price of wheat is currently at a high level so Pakistan should not import it at the moment as this imported wheat will be very expensive for Pakistan.
