Like zero-rate wheat import, farmers associations and progressive growers have urged the government to lift ban on wheat export. The Farmers Association of Pakistan (FAP) said that international wheat prices had increased because of low production of the commodity world-wide.
India, an exporter of the commodity for the last 15 years, has entered the market as importer this year, as the country is expecting a shortage of four million tons of wheat, the association added.
With carry-over stock of around two million tons, the government's first production estimate of 20.5 million ton is close to the domestic consumption of 21 million tons, so the government can export one million tons, they maintained. Nasir Mehmood Khosa, an official of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock said that it would only consider this option when the procurement of the wheat is completed in the Punjab. It is premature to comment on the export of surplus wheat at this stage, when the procurement has not yet started in the Punjab, major producer of the wheat, the official added.
The government should lift ban on the export of the wheat not only to comply with WTO regime, but also to benefit the growers, said agriculture development commissioner.
Giving rationale of the export, the ADC said that Pakistani wheat is used in the Gulf for making special dish called 'harisa' and they were ready to pay $250 per ton. They are currently importing from Rahim Yar Khan and other southern districts of Punjab. If the growers got some good price for the crop, it would encourage them not only to grow more but also to get more yields, he opined.
When asked about the food security of the country, Baloch said that it could only be ensured when the grower is paid good price of his produce. Otherwise, they will prefer to grow other cash crops, as they did in the case of sugarcane and maize, he recalled.