Hoarders have piled up over three million tonnes of wheat, causing a shortage of this commodity in the domestic market while this situation has compelled consumers to pay more for wheat flour despite its bumper crop of over 23 million tonnes, trade sources said.
"Exporters, flour millers and some relatives of food officials are involved in the wheat hoarding. They have brought wheat on nominal rates and now they are being waiting for price-hike in the local market," they added.
Despite the record bumper wheat crop, the prices of the commodity have been moving upward for the last one and half months, as wheat price stood at Rs 10,625 per tonne in the domestic market in April as compared to presently available at Rs 12,700 per tonne, depicting an increase of Rs 2,075 per tonne.
Sources claimed that over three million tonnes of wheat have been hoarded by some market men, besides exporters and millers, which is the main reason of its price-hike in the local market.
They said: "Major hoarding has been made in the four big cities, including Karachi, where over one million tonnes of wheat have been stocked by the exporters and millers, in addition a huge quantity of the commodity has been hoarded in the interior Sindh by some relatives of food officials."
Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi are some other cities where wheat has been stored by market movers and they are not releasing stock aimed to earn more profit.
After the allowing of wheat export by the government through private sector exporters came in to market and they procure over 0.5 million tonne wheat from open market for export, but after the ban on wheat export by the government they have not floated the wheat stocks.
"The hoarders have brought wheat at Rs 410-425 per mound during the harvesting season in April, whereas now its price has touched Rs 500-508 per maund in the local market, depicting an increase of Rs 75-98 per maund in the domestic market," sources said.
Some measures taken by the federal government for the reduction in wheat grain remained unsuccessful. Despite the ban on wheat export its prices are constantly going up in the domestic market.
The federal government had given green signal to exporters by lifting two-year ban on wheat export last December, but in May 2007, the government suspended wheat export. Later, last week it formally announced the imposition of ban on the wheat export aimed to arrest its soaring prices in the local market.
In spite of the wheat export suspension, exporters and traders have not floated wheat stocks in the market, which have spurred its prices, sources said, adding: "If the action would not be taken against the hoarders more hike in wheat prices are likely in the near future."
The Pakistan Agri Forum, a leading agricultural platform, also confirmed hoarding of wheat, saying that current year country's wheat output stood at 23 million tonnes.
"The government's claim of 23.5 million tonnes of wheat production is not correct, but it is true that country has achieved overall production of 23 million tonnes of wheat during the current season," said Pakistan Agri Forum Chairman Ibrahim Mughal.
He said that out of 23 million tonnes of wheat production, Punjab is at the number one position with around 18 million tonnes of wheat output during the current season, adding that Sindh has produced three million tonnes, NWFP stood at third position with 1.2 million tonnes, while Balochistan's stood at 0.8 million tonnes.
The country's total consumption stands at 21.5 million tonnes, including 20 million tonne for food purposes, one million tonnes for seed use, and 0.5 million tonnes mainly for feed of animals, therefore, around 1.5 million tonne surplus wheat has produced during the current season, he added.
He said the provincial governments and federal government have procured around 4.3 million tonnes wheat against the target of 4.5 million tonnes, while as per our estimates over three million tonnes have been hoarded by market movers.
"Every year, farmers detained a huge quantity of wheat for their use for the whole year consumption and it has estimated that over 65 percent or around 15 million tonnes of wheat has not been sold by the farmers," they informed.
Farmers were not benefited by this price-hike as it has sold wheat at fixed rates at Rs 425 per maund but now when the farmers role has been closed down the prices started shooting up in the domestic market. Mughal demanded prompt action for reduction in the wheat grain prices in addition to controlling its hoarding by the millers and exporters, who have not yet floated stocks in the market.
He said the Pakistan Agri Forum has also sent letters to the different government officials, including the prime minister, ministry of food agriculture and livestock for prompt action against the hoarders but still no any response has so far been received.