Imported wheat costs more than locally-produced crop

Govt has imported 622,000 tonnes so far at Rs4,000 per 40kgs

ISLAMABAD:

The wheat imported by the government through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would cost about 4,000 per 40 kilogrammes, much more than the current price level of Rs3,000 of the domestic production, sources said.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had allowed the procurement of 1 million tonnes of wheat through the TCP under open tender. The TCP placed orders for 986,000 tonnes of wheat, out of which 622,000 tonnes had reached the country.

According to the sources, till now the first consignment of wheat cost $515 per tonne, the second one cost $404 and the third consignment was imported at $407 per tonne. In rupee, the sources added, the cost came to Rs4,000 per 40 kilogrammes.

This meant that the imported wheat was more expensive than the locally-produced wheat. Last year, the wheat support price in the country was Rs2,200 per 4,000 kilogrammes. Therefore, for the next season, the provinces were pushing the federal government fix the support price at least at Rs3,000.

The sources said that the higher wheat support price would promote the production of the commodity at the domestic level and discourage its import. Besides, the sources added that the farmer would also get adequate benefits from the wheat cultivation.

The Sindh government had proposed to raise the support price to Rs4,000, while the proposal of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was to set the support price at Rs3,000-3,500. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce had also recommended the support price of Rs3,000.