KARACHI — Private sector cereal importers have raised serious alarms over recent regulatory proposals suggesting the government might route future wheat imports through the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Strongly opposing the intervention, Cereal Association of Pakistan (CAP) Chairman Muzzamil Chappal warned that returning to state-led imports could inflict billions of rupees in losses on the national exchequer and dismantle the country’s established wheat deregulation policy. The association has formally urged the federal government to allow the private sector to import a total of four million tonnes of wheat in two equal phases without any public subsidies, arguing that market-driven procurement remains highly efficient and financially self-sustaining.
Highlighting historical success, CAP recalled that private firms imported 2.7 million tonnes of wheat in the fiscal year 2024 without relying on national financing, successfully pulling domestic retail prices down from Rs123 per kg to Rs95 per kg. Importers emphasize that the current July–August window aligns perfectly with the highly competitive harvest seasons of South America and the Black Sea region. Meanwhile, provincial authorities are shifting focus toward market stabilization; Sindh Food Minister Makhdoom Mehboob uz Zaman held a high-level meeting with the Flour Mills Association to regulate prices. While confirming that Sindh holds 446,947 tonnes of wheat reserves—boosted significantly by anti-hoarding crackdowns—the provincial minister directed millers to keep retail flour prices minimal and assured that all inter-district wheat movement remains completely restriction-free.
