Imported wheat remains stuck at Karachi ports

Wheat imported from other countries remains undispatched despite the passage of two days as transporters have refused to comply with axle load restrictions.

According to a report by Dawn, as much as 240,000 tonnes of wheat is being held at Karachi Port and Port Qasim while another 400,000 tonnes are expected to arrive on Saturday.

According to importers, the government has set the net weight of trucks at 45 tonnes, asking transporters to reduce the load by 40 to 50 per cent.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Central Chairman Badar-ud-din-Kakar had warned that the situation could lead to a halt in supply of imported wheat could create flour shortage in the markets.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country is importing wheat to control the rising prices of the commodity.

PFMA Chairman Sindh Zone Haji Mohammad Yousuf Chaudhry said that the Sindh Cabinet had fixed the price of wheat at Rs3,687.50 per 100 kg bag on Tuesday to bring down the ex-mills rate of flour, a decision that brought down the rate of imported wheat to Rs5,100 per 100 kg bag from Rs5,500 while local wheat price fell to Rs5,300-5,400 per 100 kg bag from Rs5,700-5,800.

Cereal Association of Pakistan (CAP) Chairman Muzzamil Chappal said that the government's restrictions would increase the cost of up-country transportation.

"There are limited numbers of trucks available in the country while the quantity of imported wheat is high and requires smooth transportation," he said, adding that around 10,000-15,000 tonnes per day of wheat is being transported up-country.

Meanwhile, Minister for Food Security Syed Fakhar Imam has said that the country has a stock of 5m metric tonnes of wheat and the private sector will most probably import 7m metric tonnes by January next year whereas our total consumption is around 6m tonnes.