Pakistan Private Wheat Importers Reject Govt Plan Over Billions in Potential Losses

Pakistan's private wheat importers have rejected the government's plan to import wheat through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), warning that it could result in billions of rupees in losses. The Cereal Association of Pakistan (CAP) urged the government to allow the private sector to import four million tonnes of wheat in two phases, without any subsidy or public financing.

CAP Chairman Muzzamil Chappal said the government should maintain the wheat deregulation policy introduced two years ago and avoid intervening in the market. He noted that the private sector had successfully imported 2.7 million tonnes of wheat in FY2023-24 without subsidies, helping stabilize supplies and reducing wheat prices from Rs. 123 per kilogram to Rs. 95 per kilogram.

The association claimed that July and August are an ideal time for imports because the Black Sea and South American harvest seasons offer competitive international prices. It also argued that allowing timely private-sector imports could lower wholesale wheat prices in Karachi from the current range of Rs. 116 to Rs. 120 per kilogram to between Rs. 95 to Rs. 100 per kilogram.