Dry spell: 1.5-2mn tons of wheat may be lost

ASMA RAZAQ

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to lose 1.5-2 million tons of wheat during FY12 if the dry spell continues in January.

Well-placed sources told Business Recorder that due to high prices of fertilisers such as urea in the local market, farmers have reduced its use by 30 percent. On the other hand, there has not been even a single drop of rain in December and the wheat crop that has been sown on 21 million acres could be affected adversely with the dry spell.

“Not just wheat, but also the production of gram, canola, mustard, potato, fruits and vegetables would be affected if the current dry spell continues in January,” sources revealed. Sources added that the gram crop is being sown at 3 million acres and the 90-95 percent of the crop is totally depends on rain. “Lentils’ production will also be decreased in case of no rain in January. With the reduction in the production of canola, the prices of edible oil will become sky-rocketing as sunflower has also not been sown this year in the absence of the rain water,” sources revealed.

They said the country is likely to face Rs 100 billion loss due to considerable reduction in the production of Rabi vegetables - fruits, gram crops, pulses and wheat.

“The production of a crop mainly depends on three factors; use of fertilisers, use of water and use of certified seeds. Unfortunately, the farmers in Pakistan are deprived of the adequate use of fertilisers, water and certified seeds to be used to enhance the crops’ production. The poor farmers will have to pay about Rs 60 billion as General Sales Tax (GST) this year on the purchase of