The floods have damaged up to 675,000 tons wheat lying under open sky, Agriculture Ministry officials said. They said that according to initial estimates Pakistan has sustained loss of $20.25 million by the flood. Sources said that the flood had damaged different crops sown on 1.72 million hectares. "However, the exact quantity of the commodity destroyed would be assessed after completion of countrywide survey," they added.
Sources said that the Agriculture Ministry had directed all concerned departments at provincial level to collect relevant data of damaged wheat stocks and submit a report as early as possible. Officials said that the floodwater had entered the fields where the commodity was kept in low lying areas where four to six feet floodwater is yet to recede.
Wheat stocks soared this year after a bumper crop of 23.86 million tons in 2009/10, as well as carryover stock of 4.2 million tons from the previous year when Pakistan produced 24 million tons. Food ministry officials are of the view that Pakistan is still in a position to export over 2 million tons of wheat and can earn valuable foreign exchange, which could be utilised in the development of the agriculture sector.
They added that the government should take a decision in this regard after complete assessment of the losses and prospects of the next crop. The government has announced to preserve one million tons of wheat as strategic reserve, but it still has over 2 million tons surplus, which could be exported, sources added. They said that previously the government had held back the matter of wheat export because of low prices in the international market, but at present globally per ton wheat price has crossed $300.
Only in Sindh province, over 0.3 million tons of wheat stock lying under the open sky in different districts has been damaged by the recent flood and torrential rains, sources added. They said that the provincial government has the capacity to store 0.6 million tons of wheat, whereas the government procured 1.5 million tons of wheat this season.
Flood has swept away over 0.3 million tons of wheat stock lying under the open sky in Punjab valuing almost at $10 million, while 50,000 tons of wheat stocks were damaged in Khyber Pakyunkhwa and a small quantity in Balochistan, sources stated.
Riazullah Khan, a member of Pakistan Flour Mills Association, said that Pakistan, among the largest wheat producers in the world, still has ample stocks for export. According to the increased international prices of the commodity only Sindh has lost wheat worth over $9 million, said Riaz. He said that due to surplus wheat production the government was planning to export over two million tons.