KARACHI: Business community has urged the government to take immediate action for wheat import to curb the emerging crisis.

President of Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI) Sheikh Umer Rehan said that federal government had approved wheat import to meet country's demand but still there was no any action had taken in that regard.

Sheikh Umer Rehan said Pakistan was an agricultural country and could provide sufficient wheat supply for its local requirements but due to mismanagement and flawed planning "we are heading towards wheat crisis."

He mentioned that food ministry hadn't started wheat import and even not allowing private sector to do so.

He said that supply chain of essential items should be maintained especially in those days of hardship where on one hand world was going through a pandemic and their economy was suffering at worst.

He urged the federal government to expedite the import process of wheat to avoid food crisis.

He further said that provincial governments could control the situation regarding wheat supply if they take some timely measures.

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain said the most devastating wheat crisis was engulfing the country.

Apart from the influential mafia, the concerned departments were also responsible for messing up the wheat market through wrong decisions which was unfortunate, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that at one hand the government was trying to reduce the wheat and flour prices while on the other it was imposing taxes on the flour mills.

He said the incompetent food bureaucracy was pushing the country into another crisis as federal and provincial governments had failed to achieve the wheat procurement target.

Flour mills were allowed to procure wheat only after the government went out of the cash which had not helped the food security situation.

He noted that the government had decided to import 15 million tonnes of wheat but so far not a single kilogram of wheat had been imported.

The private sector has acquired 122 permits to import 72,500 tonnes of wheat but none has opened LCs while the authorities continue to work on snail pace without realizing the gravity of the situation.

The ECC fixed wheat procurement target of 8.25 million tonnes but all the provincial and federal departments have purchased only 6.45 million tonnes of wheat which amounts to helping the profiteers.

It is amazing that nothing has been earmarked for wheat import in the recent budget which may delay the decision to offer a subsidy to the importers.

Punjab has fixed price of 40 kg wheat at Rs1450 but it is being sold at Rs1950 while the wheat is available in Sindh at Rs1800.

He said the government should stop depending on the private sector and initiate imports by itself to tackle the looming crisis.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020