Serious Flour Shortage Crisis Looms Due to Govt’s New Wheat Procurement Policy

President of the Faisalabad Chamber of Small Traders and Industries Chaudhry Shafiq Anjum has strongly objected to the government’s decision to stop purchasing wheat from farmers this season. He said the move amounts to abandoning growers at a time when market support is most needed. He criticised the procurement approach as symbolic and ineffective. With the arrival of the wheat harvest, prices have been falling sharply. In previous years, government purchases through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) and provincial food departments had helped stabilise rates. This year, however, both federal and provincial levels have opted out of procurement, leading to an even bigger drop in prices compared to last year. He pointed out that flour mills, acting on earlier government guidance, bought wheat at Rs. 3,500 per 40kg. But with current market prices down to Rs. 2,200, millers are facing substantial losses. Farmers, too, are unable to recover their production costs. Anjum further warned that nearly half of the flour mills in the region have already shut down. If this policy continues and farmers reduce wheat cultivation in the next cycle, the country could face a serious flour shortage, potentially forcing imports at high prices and placing additional pressure on foreign reserves.