Pakistan's government has approved the import of about 1 million tonnes of wheat as flour prices soar at home. Citing a report by the grain-trade publication World-Grain.com, Dainik Bangla reports that it is the country's first state wheat import on this scale since 2024.
According to an assessment by the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), flour prices in Pakistan have risen at least 13 per cent over the past four months, from 422 to 476 dollars a tonne. Compared with August last year, flour is up about 60 per cent.
The FAS report blames the volatility on an abrupt change in government market policy. Provincial governments stopped buying wheat directly from farmers, as they had in past years, and left procurement entirely to the private sector. With less state buying, small and marginal farmers were forced to sell to middlemen at low prices after harvest because they needed cash, and with little oversight, traders, brokers and hoarders took control of much of the market and created artificial shortages, the report says.
FAS estimates that at least 1.5 million tonnes of imports may be needed to restore lasting stability, but, given the government quota, it has kept its import forecast for the 2026-27 marketing year at 1 million tonnes.
Experts advise completing the imports quickly to secure supply before the new domestic crop arrives next March. Wheat is considered a pillar of Pakistan's food security and farm economy.
Photo: Sajid ali raza / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) (wheat in the Rupal valley, Pakistan)
Source: Dainik Bangla
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