Private Wheat Importers Reject Govt Plan, Warn of Billions in Losses

Pakistan's private wheat importers are rejecting government plans to import wheat through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), citing potential billions in losses. The Cereal Association of Pakistan (CAP) is urging the government to allow them to import four million tonnes of wheat in two phases without any subsidy or public financing.

The association argues that market-driven imports are more efficient and place no burden on the national exchequer. CAP Chairman Muzzamil Chappal notes that the private sector had successfully imported 2.7 million tonnes of wheat in FY2023-24 without subsidies, helping stabilize supplies and reduce wheat prices from Rs. 123 per kilogram to Rs. 95 per kilogram.

Chappal also claims that Pakistan currently holds around 450,000 tonnes of two-year-old wheat, while stocks stored by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) are deteriorating in warehouses. He warns that delaying imports could lead to wholesale wheat prices climbing to Rs. 125 per kilogram in Karachi.

The CAP is urging the government to maintain the wheat deregulation policy introduced two years ago, which allows for market-driven imports.