Pakistan faced a financial loss of over Rs 300 billion during the 2023–24 financial year due to the import of 3.59 million metric tons of wheat, despite having sufficient domestic stock, according to the Audit Report 2024-25. This decision is highlighted as one of the most significant financial failures of the federal government in the reviewed period.
The report also pointed to a lack of consultation with key stakeholders like the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), and the absence of effective coordination between federal and provincial departments.
These oversights led to misjudgments in assessing the national wheat stock, which resulted in unnecessary import costs, distressed sales of surplus stock, and additional expenses for storage and subsidies, amounting to Rs. 310 billion in total financial impact.
The report reveals that the Ministry of National Food Security and Research proceeded with the wheat import while 4.12 million metric tons of domestically produced wheat were already in public sector storage. This oversupply in the domestic market led to a decrease in wheat prices, severely impacting local farmers who were already struggling to sell their harvest.
The audit sharply criticised federal authorities for disregarding repeated warnings from provincial governments, particularly Punjab and Sindh, which had indicated that their procurement targets had been met, and storage facilities were full.
Despite these warnings, the federal government moved forward with the import, causing logistical issues, storage problems, and economic distortion in the agricultural market.
The audit recommends a comprehensive review of the wheat procurement and import policy by the Ministry of National Food Security. It calls for future decisions to be based on reliable, real-time stock data from all provinces and suggests the development of a centralised digital system to monitor grain procurement and storage capacity.
