A ship carrying 51,000 tonnes of imported wheat has arrived at Karachi Port, raising hopes that wheat and flour prices will decline in the coming days. The vessel is anchored at berths 16 and 17 of the port.
Another ship carrying 59,132 tonnes of wheat is expected to arrive on November 3. Together, the two vessels will bring in more than 110,000 tonnes. Bulk wheat handling is underway at Karachi Port through KGTML, which will handle the entire quantity.
Federal minister expects prices to return to normal
Federal Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said wheat prices are expected to return to normal within the next few days. He blamed the recent rise in prices on artificial factors and the interference of certain elements in the market.
The minister said the government had fixed the wheat price at Rs4,500 per maund in consultation with all provinces. He added that the price was set to protect farmers’ interests, and that the federal government had formulated a national wheat policy for the first time in 40 years.
Reserves, local purchases and provincial supplies
Hussain said strategic wheat reserves of up to six million metric tonnes would be maintained this year. He ruled out a wheat shortage, saying Pakistan had sufficient stocks and the public had no reason to worry.
He said the government would give priority to buying wheat from local farmers rather than relying on imports. More than 1.3 million metric tonnes had already been supplied to the provinces from PASSCO stocks, and up to 550,000 metric tonnes could be imported depending on provincial demand.
