The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has unveiled a detailed audit report that identifies financial mismanagement, irregularities, and potential malafide intent behind the Rs300 billion wheat scandal of 2023-24, The News reported.
The report highlights discrepancies in wheat imports, poorly justified data, delayed government actions, and manipulation that ultimately benefited private importers at the expense of local farmers and the national treasury.
The AGP’s findings officially confirm previous suspicions about the wheat crisis, noting that 3.59 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat were imported in 2023-24, well above the approved quota of 2.4 MMT, despite the country recording its highest-ever wheat production of 31.47 MMT.
Additionally, surplus stocks of 4.64 MMT were carried forward, making the imports unnecessary and contributing to a loss of Rs300 billion.
The report indicates that the justification for these excessive imports was based on “completely unreliable” data, with the national demand estimates deliberately inflated to justify over-imports.
The AGP found discrepancies in the stock figures used to justify these imports, especially between opening and closing stock data. These discrepancies led to poor decision-making, such as excessive imports and delayed actions, which further escalated wheat and flour prices.
A major issue identified was the delayed action by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) in implementing wheat imports through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).
Despite approvals for a 1 MMT import, the process was delayed for over a month, after which private imports flooded the market. The report suggests that this delay was intentional, benefiting private importers.
Additionally, the report reveals that the government’s decision to import wheat was made under the false premise of building strategic reserves. However, it was found that the wheat imported under these claims was stored by private importers instead of the state due to limited government storage capacity.
The AGP further discredited the government’s claim that the wheat was imported to build reserves, pointing out that these reserves were never officially maintained, and the wheat ultimately benefited private entities rather than local farmers.
The audit also uncovered that Afghanistan’s wheat demand was included in Pakistan’s domestic consumption figures, inflating the demand and justifying the extra imports. Furthermore, 500,000 tons of wheat were exported to Afghanistan without being accounted for in official figures.
The report calls for reforms, including improved transparency, better decision-making, and measures to safeguard food security and support local farmers. The AGP’s findings have been shared with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, but no response was received by the time of publication.
