Provinces backtrack on wheat import

According to The Express Tribune, Punjab and Sindh have pulled back from buying imported wheat, only days after the federal government agreed to bring in one million metric tonnes to curb rising prices. Neither province has yet responded to the tripartite agreement governing the import, officials told the paper on Friday. The reversal has left the Centre with a choice between financing the imports from federal resources or dropping the plan and risking a shortage.

Punjab cut its demand to 800,000 tonnes and told a meeting it did not need imported wheat, saying 533,000 tonnes of federal stock were still to be collected from PASSCO facilities. Sindh, which had asked for 720,000 tonnes including 500,000 of imports, also showed reluctance at a steering committee meeting on Wednesday chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa kept its demand for 200,000 tonnes of imported wheat, and its representative objected to Punjab's changed position.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed average wheat flour prices rose 77.5% in the week compared with a year earlier, reaching Rs132.5 per kilogram from Rs75. A draft tripartite agreement prepared by the food ministry sets out roles for the ministry, the provinces and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, but no provincial government had responded by Thursday. A decision on whether to waive the duties included in the estimated payment security is pending with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.