Pakistan struggles to keep bumper wheat harvest
Sunday, 6 December 2009
LAHORE, Dec 5 (Commodity Online) : Bumper wheat harvest in Pakistan this year might create more problems for its provinces as all of them lacks storage facility to keep the vital commodity, analysts said.
Slow lifting of wheat by the provinces may develop into a crisis in the coming weeks as more than three million tonnes of the produce stocked in the open could be damaged in case of rains, they said.
Provincial governments in Pakistan have been very slow in lifting the wheat from the central stocks because they suntil had carryover from last year as well as the imported commodity to consume, analysts said.
Southern province of Sindh lifted only half of the quantity from last year while Pak Punjab is gradually increasing releases to the flour mills.
Total lifting of wheat by all the provinces and other areas is about 26,000 tonnes per day against more than 40,000 tonnes same period last year.
A major chunk of over three million tonnes stocks that are lying outside in the open could be damaged in case of rains and environmental moisture although stocks available with food departments are properly covered with Tarpaulin and placed on secure plinths.
In Pak Punjab large quantities of wheat in the open lacking proper storage facilities and could catch ground moisture.
At the same time, wheat sowing in Pakistan this year is almost on target, which is expected to improve per acre yield and overall production.
Analysts said Pakistan have highest ever carryover stocks when the new crop starts arriving in April next year, leaving a lot of exportable surplus.
The government will have to take an immediate decision to allow wheat export now otherwise it would become difficult to handle huge stocks after few months.
They further said the government should have considered not procuring next year crop but that would have sent wrong signals to the growers. That is why the government has already announced to procure at least 7.5 million tonnes next season at official rates to ensure better output.
Pakistan's Federal Agricultural Development Commission said that the country had about eight million tonnes of wheat stocks as of November, almost 300 per cent more than last year's 2.7 million tonnes.
Commission said Pak Punjab was given a sowing target of 6.8 million hectare for the year and so far sowing has been completed on about 3.7 million hectare against 4.1 million hectare last year.
Sowing in Sindh has reached 0.38 million hectares against a target of one million hectares last year's same period sowing of 0.34 million hectare. In NWFP and Balochistan sowing is almost the same as last year.
Slow lifting of wheat by the provinces may develop into a crisis in the coming weeks as more than three million tonnes of the produce stocked in the open could be damaged in case of rains, they said.
Provincial governments in Pakistan have been very slow in lifting the wheat from the central stocks because they suntil had carryover from last year as well as the imported commodity to consume, analysts said.
Southern province of Sindh lifted only half of the quantity from last year while Pak Punjab is gradually increasing releases to the flour mills.
Total lifting of wheat by all the provinces and other areas is about 26,000 tonnes per day against more than 40,000 tonnes same period last year.
A major chunk of over three million tonnes stocks that are lying outside in the open could be damaged in case of rains and environmental moisture although stocks available with food departments are properly covered with Tarpaulin and placed on secure plinths.
In Pak Punjab large quantities of wheat in the open lacking proper storage facilities and could catch ground moisture.
At the same time, wheat sowing in Pakistan this year is almost on target, which is expected to improve per acre yield and overall production.
Analysts said Pakistan have highest ever carryover stocks when the new crop starts arriving in April next year, leaving a lot of exportable surplus.
The government will have to take an immediate decision to allow wheat export now otherwise it would become difficult to handle huge stocks after few months.
They further said the government should have considered not procuring next year crop but that would have sent wrong signals to the growers. That is why the government has already announced to procure at least 7.5 million tonnes next season at official rates to ensure better output.
Pakistan's Federal Agricultural Development Commission said that the country had about eight million tonnes of wheat stocks as of November, almost 300 per cent more than last year's 2.7 million tonnes.
Commission said Pak Punjab was given a sowing target of 6.8 million hectare for the year and so far sowing has been completed on about 3.7 million hectare against 4.1 million hectare last year.
Sowing in Sindh has reached 0.38 million hectares against a target of one million hectares last year's same period sowing of 0.34 million hectare. In NWFP and Balochistan sowing is almost the same as last year.