Is Sindh govt responsible for higher wheat prices?

The Sindh and federal government has been embroiled in another controversy over the price of wheat after reports that it was being sold at higher rates in the province than the rest of the country.

The federal government has blamed Sindh for the price hike and failure to release wheat stocks. The provincial government has announced to release the stocks from October 15 and has agreed to match the support price in Punjab to ensure it is sold at a uniform rate.

Costliest in Sindh

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who has been a vocal critic of the Sindh government, has claimed that wheat was the costliest in Sindh as compared to other provinces.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to push the Sindh government for an immediate release of wheat to bring down its price across the province.

He claimed the provincial government had halted the release of 1.2 million tonnes of wheat, driving its rate up. He also accused the provincial government of not procuring the grain previously.

The federal government had recently started releasing wheat from warehouses in Punjab while consumers in Sindh continue to suffer as they have to buy flour at a much higher price.

Sindh to release wheat

On October 5, the provincial cabinet decided to release wheat to flour mills at a rate of Rs1,950 per 40 kg from October 16  the same price fixed in Punjab. Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who presided over the cabinet meeting, said the prices of wheat flour would be stabilised after a uniform rate in the country.

Food Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla told the Sindh cabinet that over 1.2 million tonnes of wheat stocks were available in the warehouses of the food department, which releases the commodity to flour mills on October 15 every year. He informed that currently the Punjab government had started releasing wheat at the rate of Rs1,950 per 40 kg from Septemeber 20.

The cabinet subsequently approved the release of wheat from Oct 16 at a rate of Rs1,950 per 40 kg after the chief minister said a similar support prices would stabilise flour prices.

Wheat import

Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet approved a tender for procurement of 120,000 tons of wheat. The committee approved the tender in compliance with the directive of the cabinet to procure 4 million tons of wheat to build reserves during the ongoing fiscal year.

The meeting urged the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) chairman to expedite efforts for wheat import to stabilise prices and ensure a smooth supply of the commodity across the country.

On Oct 7, the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) also took strict notice of the prices prevailing in Sindh and Balochistan. Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin urged chief secretaries of the two provinces to initiate daily release of wheat to stabilise prices of the commodity.

Higher targets fixed

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) has fixed wheat target at 28.9 million tonnes from a sowing area of 9.2 million hectares for the rabi season 2021-22, an increase of 1.4 million tonnes since last year.

Punjab will be producing 21.94 million tonnes, almost 75 percent of the total wheat target, followed by 4,200,000 tonnes by Sindh, 1,525,000 tonnes by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,215,000 tonnes by Balochistan.

The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) Advisory Committee has anticipated a shortfall of 28 percent irrigation water during the upcoming rabi season.  The provinces have been allocated 26.91 million acre feet (MAF) of water. It added that prevailing weather conditions are supportive and shortage may be manageable.

Who is responsible?

Pakistan is one of the largest producers of wheat but has to import the essential commodity to meets its growing needs. According to reports, flour was being sold at Rs70 to 75 per kg in Karachi while the price of flour in Punjab was Rs57 to 58 per kg.

Is the Sindh government responsible for the hike in flour prices? Amid the rising prices and economic situation, the citizens have been anticipating a decline to provide some much-needed relief.