By Muhammad Luqman

The Punjab government is accelerating efforts to expand the province's wheat storage capacity through a comprehensive infrastructure programme aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, improving supply chain efficiency and strengthening food security.

"The work is underway to establish modern wheat silos under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, which will improve long-term storage, reduce post-harvest losses and improve supply chain efficiency," Director General Food Punjab Amjad Hafeez told Wealth Pakistan.

He said the government is also promoting the establishment of on-farm silos under the PPP model to increase farmers' storage capacity, enabling them to store wheat safely, reduce distress sales and secure better returns on their produce.

According to Hafeez, the initiative involves targeted investments of Rs20 billion to address Pakistan's estimated wheat storage gap of 20-25 million metric tonnes. The programme is expected to help farmers retain ownership of their produce, prevent nearly three million tonnes of post-harvest losses and generate an estimated US$289 million in additional annual value.

In Pakistan, wheat is consumed in various forms, including atta (whole wheat flour), maida (refined flour), suji (semolina), fortified flour, starch, breakfast cereals and crushed wheat.

Commenting on wheat stocks, Hafeez said Punjab has sufficient reserves to comfortably meet provincial requirements until the end of the current wheat year in April next year.

He said Punjab produced about 21.91 million metric tonnes (MMT) of wheat this year against estimated annual domestic consumption of around 16.5 MMT, leaving a surplus of approximately 5.41 MMT.

The surplus, he said, provides a strong buffer to ensure uninterrupted wheat supplies, meet inter-provincial requirements, maintain market stability and strengthen food security.

To help flour mills supply atta at affordable prices, the government has started releasing wheat to mills at Rs3,800 per 40kg compared with the prevailing open-market price of around Rs4,200.

"The releases will be carried out in a calibrated and phased manner to ensure a steady supply of wheat to the milling sector. This approach is intended to maintain adequate flour availability in the market and help keep flour and roti prices stable and affordable for consumers," Hafeez said.

He added that the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) is also scheduled to begin dispatching wheat to Punjab this month. The timing, he said, has been aligned with the province's supply management plan to ensure smooth movement of wheat and continued availability of stocks.

Hafeez said the government would not allow unjustified increases in wheat, flour and bread prices, stressing that these essential food items must remain affordable, particularly for low-income households.

He said government wheat releases would continue under a coordinated strategy while market prices are being monitored closely. Strict legal action, he warned, would be taken against anyone involved in hoarding or creating an artificial wheat shortage.

Flour millers have welcomed the government's decision to release wheat from official stocks, expressing optimism that the move will help stabilise flour prices across the province.

"The price of the 10kg flour bag has remained in line with the government's notified rates. The issue has been with the 15kg bag, which is produced from wheat purchased on the open market," Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Patron-in-Chief Asim Ahmad Raza told Wealth Pakistan.

He expressed hope that the release of wheat from government warehouses would lower flour prices and eventually reduce the prices of roti and naan.

Raza also suggested importing wheat to avoid the possibility of a wheat flour shortage that could emerge in December.

Credit: INP-WealthPk