The federal government has yet to decide whether the Centre or provincial governments will import one million tons of wheat, with authorities still assessing stock levels across the country before making a final decision.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research that the imported wheat would cost between Rs4,200 and Rs4,300 per maund.
The minister said the federal government prefers that provinces undertake the imports themselves, with the Centre granting the necessary approvals. He added that his ministry has sought updated information from all provinces regarding their wheat reserves before moving ahead.
According to the minister, the federal government still has around one million tons of wheat in stock after supplying Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. He confirmed that a summary has been moved to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) seeking approval to import another one million tons, while a steering committee has also been constituted to oversee the process.
The committee also discussed wheat procurement policies. Rana Tanveer said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif supports a wheat support price, noting that Sindh procured wheat directly while Punjab adopted a public-private partnership model, purchasing wheat at around Rs3,200 per maund. He added that his ministry had asked provinces to consider increasing procurement prices to Rs3,800 per maund if shortages emerged, but no province had responded.
During the meeting, lawmakers questioned the rationale for importing wheat if sufficient domestic stocks were available, with members urging the government to prioritize local farmers before resorting to imports.
Separately, the committee directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to pursue the inclusion of the proposed Dates Research Centre in Khairpur in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), describing the project as important for improving Pakistan’s date production, research and exports.
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