Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, in a letter to the prime minister, warned of an impending wheat shortage in the province, saying the stocks would run out in February while asksing the federal government to replenish the stock.

“At present, the available wheat stocks in Punjab are 2.85 million metric tonnes (MMT),” the letter said. These stocks are anticipated to deplete by the end of February 2023 with normal plan of release.“

In the letter, Elahi urged PM Shehbaz Sharif to approve the release of 1 MMT wheat for Punjab. “I would also request you to instruct the Ministry of National Food Security & Research to immediately provide 0.3 MMT to Punjab through PASSCO,” it said. PASSCO stands for Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation.

In the letter, Elahi pointed out that the Punjab procured 4.448 MMT wheat this season, while it had leftover stock of 0.780 MMT. It amounted to a total of 5.156 MMT to cater to the needs of the people of Punjab for the season.

It started releasing wheat - on subsidised rates - from May 19. “The decision to release wheat in the month of May was taken with the consent of the federal government and with the trust that the federal government will support replenishing stocks to maintain needful releases over the entire season,” it added.

It added that the stock would have sufficed under normal circumstances. However, due to the early release of wheat, there was a need to stockfile further, it added.

It said that a strategic reserve of 500,000 tonnes is usually set aside to ensure a timely response to ‘unexpected market events’. However, without any strategic reservces, the provincial government would not be able to control market behaviour.

To avoid this eventuality, Punjab asked the Ministry of National Food Security & Research to provide a quantity of 1,000,000 tonnes through PASSCO.

It said it has written to the ministry thrice regarding the same but has been turned down on each occasion.

On June 18, Punjab asked for local wheat. On Sept 19, it aske for imported wheat as advised by the ministry. Finally, on October 4, it wrote again to the ministry seeking wheat stocks - either through Passco or the TCP.

Reuters reported earlier today that a government agency in Pakistan had issued a new international tender to purchase and import 500,000 tonnes of wheat, European traders said. The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan is Oct. 26.

“At present, the available wheat stocks in Punjab are 2.85 MMT. These stocks are anticipated to deplete by the end of February 2023 with normal plan of release,” the letter from Elahi to PM Shehbaz said.

“Therefore Punjab needs above requested quantity of wheat to cater to the rising demand in winters and ensure market stability that can only be confirmed if enough stocks are available.”