Wheat Import Scam in Pakistan

Pakistan’s farmers are up in arms, protesting low procurement of wheat and the govt. is cracking down on them. Wheat rates have plummeted to reach a shocking below the support price of $14 per 40 kg. In 2023, the Pakistan caretaker govt. allowed private business entities to import wheat worth $1.2B from August 2023 to March 2024 with little to no regard for domestic production. Permission to import wheat came when the prices of wheat started decreasing in the international market. The data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), shows Pakistan’s import of wheat stood 3.44 MT at an estimated cost of $1B. This put a major dent in the national exchequer of Pakistan and the country’s foreign exchange reserves at a time when Pakistan was struggling with a historic economic crisis. The caretaker govt. doled out hard-earned $1.05B in foreign exchange. This year, Pakistan has seen a bumper wheat crop production. With the massive amount of import, the procurement of wheat by the Pakistan govt. was slashed from 7.8 MT in the last fiscal year to 4.44 MT. This was almost a 50% decrease from last year’s figure which has led to protests this week and next. Like the Indian farmers from the wheat belt — Panjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh — the Pakistan farmers too are asking for the formulation of a permanent policy for the agriculture sector, ensuring fixed rates for seeds, DAP and Urea fertilizer composts, water, electricity, and diesel.