Food crisis imminent as wheat production falls

In absence of a procurement policy, experts say Pakistan may have to import.

LAHORE: Wheat, Pakistan’s most important staple crop, production is expected to miss the targets set for the current fiscal year and has sparked uncertainty in the country about the future of the crop, especially in the absence of a clear procurement policy.

Agriculture experts and farmers are in two minds whether to sow the crop as the government delayed the announcement of the support price during the sowing season, forcing many farmers to go for other crops. Additionally, late payments from sugar millers to farmers became another hurdle for sowing wheat due to lack of financial capacity of the farmers to prepare production for wheat.

Experts say that the season’s sowing target was missed by a million acres. The government aimed at sowing the staple crop at 23 million acres, whereas the actual owing area was 21.4 million acres.

“We continuously asked the government to take pre-emptive steps against the expected food crisis in Pakistan,” said Ibrahim Mughal, chairman of Agri Forum Pakistan, while talking to The Express Tribune.

“With already inflated flour prices, one should be mentally prepared for possible price hikes in the coming months,” added Mughal.

Annual wheat demand in Pakistan is 26 million tons, which the country has not been able to achieve for quite some time, and this year experts estimate that total production will be around 23 million tons, which is three million short of current requirements.

Procurement will start when the interim government will be most likely handling the affairs and that is why experts believe that uncertainty regarding the crop has increased among wheat growers as the present government has not shown a lot of interest concerning the issue and have been reluctant in announcing the wheat procurement policy, which should have been done by now.

If this happens, the government might once again begin importing wheat, said Mughal.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2013.

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