The government has saved $US13 million of the national treasury as a result of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s prompt decision on the second tender of wheat import, the meeting on wheat reserves was informed on Tuesday.
The PM’s directive for the second tender of wheat import of 300,000 metric tonnes saved US$34.54 per metric tonnes, according to the review meeting on wheat stocks presided over by PM Sharif.
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The federal ministers Miftah Ismail, Syed Naveed Qamar, Tariq Bashir Cheema, and other pertinent senior officials present at the meeting were informed that the country’s current wheat production is anticipated to be 26.389 MMT, while the reserves from the previous year were 1.806 MMT.
The government had resolved to import wheat as soon as possible through the Economic Coordination Committee in order to close the gap between demand and reserves due to the overall reserves of 28.199 MMT and the total national demand of 30.79 MMT.
He praised the work of the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Food Security, and other pertinent ministries in reducing the per metric tonne price decrease in the tender.
PM Sharif gave the appropriate authorities instructions to make sure that wheat is available in the nation at lower prices.
In addition to assuring the buffer stock with the release of wheat till the following harvest, he underlined the need for an urgent report after calculating the amount of buffer stock.
The absence of thorough planning for wheat stocks during the previous four years worried the prime minister.
He regretted that Pakistan, an agricultural nation, was on the verge of a food crisis as a result of the previous administration’s lack of preparedness.
He said, “By not developing comprehensive arrangements for fulfilling the demand and supply of wheat, injustice has been done to the 220 million people of the country.”
PM Sharif emphasised the need for engagement with a foreign expert in order to develop a plan for the import of wheat of both sufficient quality and quantity.
The government’s deal with Russia for the import of two million metric tonnes of wheat was in the final stages of implementation, it was announced at the conference.
The meeting also covered in depth the development of the import of wheat through the Gwadar port.
The prime minister gave instructions on how to import wheat efficiently through Gwadar port.
