Wheat Stocks.

On Tuesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) reversed its one month old decision to reduce the country's strategic wheat reserves and also cut the import requirements. According to reports, the Ministry of National Food, Security and Research advocated for increasing national wheat strategic reserves, and pointed out that the current quantity of wheat stocks is insufficient in the wake of the recent floods due to which farmers have incurred financial damages that add to the issues of rising local wheat prices as well as hoarding and smuggling.

To ensure the availability of wheat across the country and to stabilise local wheat prices, it was proposed that the quantum of wheat strategic reserves may be retained at the level of 2 million metric tons. Given that the restriction on imports has been waived, the ECC has directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to arrange a further quantity of 800,000 metric tons either through government-to-government deal or open tender...