Flour millers urge wheat import permission to avoid shortage

KARACHI: Flour millers have attributed the recent spike in wheat and flour prices to delays in government procurement and called for immediate permission to import wheat aimed to prevent shortages and stabilise prices in the domestic market.

Yasir Iqbal Malik, a leading miller, former President of the Jamshoro Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Convener of the Sindh Flour Mills Sub-Committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), has attributed the recent surge in wheat and flour prices to delays in the government’s wheat procurement process.

He said the flour milling industry and FPCCI had repeatedly warned the government to begin procurement on time and take effective measures against wheat hoarding. The current wheat price hike could have been avoided by timely action of the authorities and the government would have been able to achieve its procurement targets.

Malik welcomed the recent actions taken by the government and local administration for the wheat price stability and said that these measures have already helped reduce wheat and flour prices. However, he noted that these steps should have been implemented much earlier.

He emphasised that the flour milling industry has consistently opposed wheat hoarding, warning that such practices directly affect consumers, particularly low and middle-income households. He urged the authorities to focus enforcement efforts on private warehouses and industrial units where wheat is allegedly being stockpiled, rather than targeting flour mills.

According to Malik, licensed flour mills are permitted by the Food Department to maintain wheat stocks for up to 30 days to ensure uninterrupted grinding operations. He said inspections should instead target warehouses, rice mills, cotton mills, pulse processing units and other private storage facilities that have no direct connection with wheat flour production but may be holding large quantities of wheat.

Highlighting the supply gap, he said Sindh produced around 4.8 million tonnes of wheat this year against an annual provincial requirement of approximately 6.53 million tonnes, leaving a shortfall of nearly 2 million tonnes.

He urged the federal government to immediately allow wheat imports to bridge the supply-demand gap and stabilise prices. The government, he said, could either permit the private sector to import wheat or allow genuine flour millers to import directly to ensure adequate supplies.

“If the decision to allow imports is delayed, wheat shortages could intensify and prices may rise further,” Yasir Malik warned.

He also called for long-term agricultural reforms to increase domestic wheat production and prevent recurring shortages, stressing that sustainable policy measures are needed to strengthen Pakistan’s food security.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026