Flour price hike feared on supply chain disruption

Sindh govt procures only 4m tons of wheat by end of April

KARACHI: The wheat supply chain has been disrupted in the backdrop of Covid-19-induced lockdown, which may lead to a hike in flour prices in Sindh as the provincial government has failed to effectively manage the situation.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sindh Abadgar Board Vice President Mahmood Nawaz Shah lamented that provincial authorities had failed to timely procure the targeted quantity of wheat, which would not only hurt growers but would also impact consumers through increase in flour prices.

By the end of April, when wheat harvesting was almost over in Sindh, the provincial government was able to procure only 4 million tons, which was 40% of the target and hardly 25% of wheat production in the province.

“At a time when limited transport was available due to the lockdown, a ban was imposed on inter-district and inter-provincial movement of wheat, which prevented Sindh government from achieving the target,” Shah said.

Owing to the restriction, wheat prices fell from Rs1,580 per 40 kg to a range of Rs1,275-1,350 in the open market, causing a loss to the growers.

“Despite all this, the government was unable to meet the target due to a number of reasons,” he said.

Wheat harvesting started at the end of February, however, the Sindh government initiated procurement in the first week of April when 50% of the harvesting season had already passed, he said.

In addition to that, the provincial food department created hurdles in the way of releasing the packing material (gunny bags) to growers.

Now, the district administration is raiding and visiting the growers in different districts and accusing them of hoarding wheat which, in fact, had not been procured.

According to a source, the local authorities in Hala district sealed warehouse of a prominent food company when its employees refused to offer bribe, without permission from the higher administration.

The source emphasised that a listed company could not be sealed. “This all seems to be happening due to mala fide intentions of the authorities as they want to provide benefit for the middleman,” he said.

Earlier, the authorities allowed some time to the middlemen for buying wheat at low prices, so they could directly sell to the government at inflated rates.

“It is important to note that 50% of the population of Pakistan lives in rural areas and about 30% of wheat production is kept by the growers for consumption by their families and for seed purposes,” said Shah.

Therefore, the Sindh Abadgar Board would request the chief minister to direct the provincial officials to stop harassing the growers, he said.

Hyderabad Deputy District Officer Food Saleemullah Siddiqi told The Express Tribune that farmers had panicked in the current situation and began hoarding wheat for future, which could be problematic for the rest of society.

“Therefore, the government directed the revenue department to initiate action against those involved in purchasing wheat more than their need,” he said. “Hyderabad has procured 90% of its wheat target and the process will continue till June 30.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2020.

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