Pakistan Approves Urgent Wheat Import Amid Surging Prices

Pakistan's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved an urgent import of one million tonnes of wheat to address rising prices in the market. The decision was made at a meeting presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who constituted a steering committee to oversee the process within 12 hours.

The provinces have demanded about 2.2 million tonnes of wheat due to a shortage, causing wheat prices to surge from Rs125 per kg to Rs150 in just a week. To meet provincial needs, 1.2 million tonnes of old stocks from the defunct Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will be provided, while one million tonnes will be imported through the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

The federal government has agreed to deduct any shortfall in payments for imported wheat from the provincial share of the National Finance Commission Award. This move aims to ensure that the provinces bear some responsibility for the imports and their financing.