LAHORE:
The wheat market in the most populous province in the country crashed on Friday after the arrival of Trigo de Sindh, where basic food is harvested before Punjab.
This year, the harvest of Sindh, which normally reaches the market in mid -March, was delayed by a fortnight and has just started reaching the market.
Forty kilograms of wheat were sold in Punjab at RS2,865. However, now that the market has received new supplies, the price of 40 kg of wheat has been reduced by RS400 to RS2,460.
Wheat cultivated in Punjab is expected to arrive soon to the markets, resulting in a greater reduction in wheat prices around RS2,300 to RS2,200 per 40 kg.
In Punjab, the wheat harvest season generally occurs in the late spring/early summer, and winter wheat is harvested at the end of May until early June and spring wheat in August to September.
Wheat is considered a stable food in Pakistan, where the considerable majority of people consume bread, Roti and Naan, made of wheat flour.
This season’s wheat harvest can face delays due to the month of fasting and prolonged cold climate, affecting the performance already committed. Experts describe the condition of the crop as “satisfactory but not healthy.” Any delay, experts fear, would lead to grain wave, reached the average yield and, ultimately, total national production.
“The Punjab Food Department was able to release 250,000 additional tons to compensate for the delay of Sindh and meet the demand from its southern part, which is normally feeding on Sindh in March,” explains Majid Abdullah, a Lahore mill.
This arrival was delayed due to the arrival of Eidul Fitr that stopped the transport activity in a week or so. It is possible that the mills do not feel any pressure because of these delays as the official coffers meet the demand, but the delay in the expiration of the crops would affect the crop and the individual farmers, which would suffer a loss of performance.
