Pak food imports grow amid wheat, sugar shortages

KARACHI, Oct 27 (The Dawn): Increasing wheat imports along with those of tea, palm oil, spices and sugar caused a whopping jump of 56 per cent in the country's food import bill in the first quarter of 2020-21. It amounted to $1.71 billion in the three-month period. In 2019-20, the food import bill plunged 4.31pc to $5.42bn.
In September alone, the food import bill stood at $731 million versus $452m in August and $400m in September 2019, thus signalling the revival in food imports despite the government's efforts to curb foreign buying through various measures.
To control the flour price, wheat imports from Ukraine began in the last week of August with 39,348 tonnes of the commodity costing $9.5m at the price of $242 per tonne.
The per-tonne rate further dropped to $235 in September as the import quantity swelled to 392,246 tonnes valuing $92m. The wheat import bill in the first quarter of 2020-21 stood at $102m as 431,594 tonnes arrived in the country through the private sector.
After pushing up the prices of flour type No. 2.5 to Rs 59 per kg and fine/super fine to Rs 71 per kg - from Rs 43 and Rs 46 per kg, respectively, prevailing in March - the millers in Sindh reduced the rate on Oct 22 by Rs 7.0 to Rs 52 per kg for No. 2.5 and Rs 64 per kg for fine/super fine. The reduction was on account of the falling price of imported and locally produced wheat.
Despite the rupee's notable recovery against the dollar between July
and October, the prices of different pulses rose by Rs 20-40 per kg
The federal government had not taken any serious notice of the massive price increase between March and October 22. Instead, it opened wheat imports to lower flour prices.
Wheat from Ukraine now costs Rs 5,070 per 100 kg, including transportation charges from the port, as opposed to Rs 5,500, the rate that prevailed in the first week of October. The price of locally produced wheat is Rs 5,200 per 100 kg as opposed to Rs 5,700 in the open market.
Including the one ship loaded with Russian wheat, private importers expect the arrival of 300,000 tonnes in October. Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has also imported 180,000 tonnes during the current month. The government had fixed the import target of 1.5m tonnes each for TCP and the private sector.
Imports of pulses jumped to 121,622 tonnes in September valuing $55m against 71,326 tonnes costing $35m in the preceding month and 63,745 tonnes a year ago with the import bill of $30m.
Imports of pulses in the first quarter of 2020-21 rose 8.5pc in quantity to 274,299 tonnes and 14pc in value to $135m on an annual basis. The per-tonne price of the commodity stood higher at $493 in July-Sept as opposed to $469 a year ago.