PAKISTAN’S WHEAT CRISIS

Pakistan, which boasts of being an agrarian economy, is facing a wheat flou worsened to such an extent that federating units have started accusing each other of crisis despite harvesting a bumper wheat crop last season. The situation has fomenting the crisis. The cartel of flour mill owners in Sindh has come out to further fleece the inflation-stricken masses by selling flour at unprecedented higher prices despite the fact there is enough wheat supply to the

millers from the provincial authorities. “The flour mills have posed a blatant challenge to the incumbent regime, as not only are they questioning the actual size of the crop but also demanding import of 1.5 million tons of wheat to control the prices in the province,” said Arkansan Avid, chairman of the Sindhi chapter of Pakistan Flour Mills Association.

J avid feared that the situation could further worsen and the masses could impression that they were manipulating the market and claimed that it was short take to the street if the demands of the millers were not addressed. He dispelled the supply of the commodity that was driving its prices to the highest level.

However, government officials have different views. “The situation is contrary to the ground realities as flour price has increased by mere 5 rupees [approx. 8 U.S. cents per 20-kilogram bag over the last week and it is being sold for 300 rupees $4.95 against last week’s price of 295 rupees $4.87,” claimed Additional Federal Food Secretary Shah id Hussein Rama.

“No doubt wheat prices have crossed the 600 rupees [$9.90] per 40-kilogram mark for some reasons, as the wheat traders wanted to hit sizer before shedding their stocks and replacing it with another commodity, that is, rice,” he added.

Rama wondered why if there was a shortage of wheat in the country the prices were stable in the Punjab and not witnessing any increase. He claimed that it was only the importer mafia that wanted to create an artificial shortage of flour in Sindhi, that there really was no shortage.

“The Karachi-based flour mills cartel wants not only to dictate the market but also [to dictate to] the government by increasing flour prices artificially, as the federal government has not allowed more [a higher) wheat quota to the non-functional mills and has asked the millers to maintain a cash memo list of the sale,” revealed a Karachi-based wheat trader when contacted from Islamabad.

“The millers are pushing the government not only to import a huge quantity of wheat but also to ban flour exports to Afghanistan,” he said. “It is only because they [the millers] consider the banning of the sea route [by the government] is meant only to hit flour mills in Sindhi. Also the millers dislike the administrative measures of the federal government to check soaring flour prices,” he added.