Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to formulate a wheat procurement plan for the food year 2024-25, including IMF recommendations.
The committee includes Minister of National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs and IPC, Rana Sanaullah Khan.
The committee’s mandate includes reviewing the current regulatory framework for the wheat market, ensuring availability and price stability, and consulting with stakeholders and provinces to finalize the 2024-2025 spring wheat policy. Key areas under review include the support price, procurement recommendations for federal and provincial governments, and the overall organizational structure.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) recently instructed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) to formulate a strategy to withdraw government involvement in wheat procurement and distribution, with the aim of fully liberalizing the market. This directive came during discussions on a summary of local and imported wheat stock allocations to Pasco for the food year 2024-2025.
MNFS&R reported that as of April 1, 2024, Pasco had repatriated 7.266 million metric tons of wheat, including 0.678 million metric tons of imported wheat (purchased in 2021 and 2022), and 0.588 million metric tons of domestic wheat (from 2022 and 2023). ), and 1.785 million metric tons of new domestic wheat purchased in 2024. To address the risk of deterioration of old imported wheat (0.555 million metric tons by October 1, 2024), Pasco proposed a 50:50 release ratio of domestic and imported wheat to agencies/regions.
On 24 July 2023, the ECC approved the 50:50 bid ratio, except for Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), where it was set at 75:25. On February 1, 2024, the ECC allocated 100% local wheat to GB for the remainder of the fiscal year, against its quota of 150,000 metric tons. GB later interpreted this decision as indefinite, but Pascoe objected to it, arguing that GB was using 75% domestic wheat and had not raised the imported portion by 25%.
GB, along with the Army and AJ&K, raised concerns about the quality, taste and texture of imported wheat, and requested 100% local wheat. They also pointed to potential shortages during the winter. The issue remains unresolved.