Breaking several years of the vicious cycle of compelling wheat imports caused by failure to meet planned targets, dreams of a bumper wheat crop have come true, or so it appears, as this year's estimated yield is around 24 to 25 million tons.
This will sound like happy tidings of the end of the wheat-related woes of the entire spectrum of stakeholders, including the farmers, farm labourers, procurers, flourmill owners, grocers, bakers and tandoorwallahs, and last, but not the least, millions on the breadline. However, although dominating the PPP's hypothetical poll-sweeping "Roti, Kapra aur Makan" mantra, they have remained bedeviled by the galloping rise in the price of bread.
As their ill-luck would have it, things have not been as smoothly moving down the line in the desired direction as fondly expected by the government. Reference in this context may be made to a Recorder news report, quoting market sources in Karachi, primarily, making the discordant disclosure that wheat price has spurted to the season's peak level of Rs 25.500 per ton, up by Rs 1,750 per ton, as a sequel to the ban on inter-province wheat transportation, Sindh food department has imposed on arrival of the grain from other provinces, Punjab in particular, ostensibly, to protect local farmers.
Be that as it may, the situation thus created will be remindful, to the contrary, of Punjab's traditionally strict restriction on the movement of its wheat over a stretch of recent years. In simple terms, the change in its stance has been reportedly motivated by the urge to share with other provinces its huge wheat surplus.
As against this, the Sindh government fears that arrival of Punjab's wheat in this province at this stage will so depress the prices as to make it difficult for the local farmers fully to avail of the Rs 950 per maund support price announced by the federal government. At least, this is how Nadir Khan Magsi, Sindh Food Minister, has justified the ban until the achievement of Sindh's wheat procurement target of 1.2 million tons.
Of course, he has a point in so elaborating on the developing situation. But, again, as the sources have maintained, there is also a grimmer side of the picture. This has reference to the increase in the price of wheat to Rs 25,500 per ton during one week, following which flour mills were procuring wheat at Rs 2525-2550 per 100-kg bag against Rs 2375, last week-end, as reportedly asserted by Juhar Ali Qandhari, Regional Chairman, Pakistan Flour Mills Association, claiming that Sindh government has already procured highest quantity of wheat, saying it is the right time to remove the ban.
Moreover, while averring that the procurement drive has slackened due to financial problems, he has maintained that the quality of available wheat being not up to the mark, flour mills are avoiding to have it at high prices and want to blend it with Punjab wheat, which has better quality. Worse, as he saw it coming, wheat and flour prices would further increase if the government does not allow transportation of wheat from Punjab forthwith.
At the same time he pointed to the contradiction in policy, which others may share, in imposition of ban on arrival of wheat, while wheat flour and fine flour (maida) from Punjab has been allowed. All in all, the unfortunate quandary on the wheat front can be seen as gaining frightening dimensions. For one thing, it has been also reported that with the rising prices of wheat, atta prices have also gone up by Rs 1.50-2 per kg during last week.
Similarly, an increase of Rs 2, Chakki wheat flour price has rose to Rs 29-30 per kg from Rs 27-28 per kg in retail market, and also that flour mills have increased the prices of fine wheat flour. Add to the prevailing predicament the likelihood of increase in demand of flour to feed unpredictable numbers of internally displaced persons, and grim prospects of effective curb on traditional smuggling, and it will beckon the government to do something worth the while to pre-empt the sad plight of millions on the breadline.
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