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Govt to approve Rs1,000 per 40 kg support price for wheat Naan may shoot up to Rs10
ISLAMABAD: The countrymen will be exposed to unprecedented inflation of 25to 26 per cent in next year, as the price of one kg flour (atta) will in open market will be at Rs40 per kg leading to Rs10 per naan and Rs8 for a chapatti.
This hike would take place just because of the decision that government is to take on Wednesday in the federal cabinet meeting by increasing the wheat support price to Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg from existing support price of 625 per kg. Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani will chair the cabinet meeting.
Official sources said: The government has decided, in principle, to give substantial raise in procurement price of wheat brining it at par with the existing international price of the food grain just to give maximum benefits to local farmers.
The same official also expressed fear, if the proposed support price of wheat gets approved for next crop, the unscrupulous influential would go for massive hoarding remaining period of the current year which is why the huge inflation would engulf the poor masses.
In case of an announcement of Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg wheat support price, every facility in the country would have additional burden of Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 per year. This will also increase the poverty rate in the country.
According to one study that 60 percent people in rural areas are affiliated with non-farm activities and they will have to purchase the wheat at higher cost.
The urban people would be bound to expose to the unprecedented inflation which would heighten more because of the increase in support price of wheat, a basic kitchen commodity.
The sowing of wheat is being done in October and November in Sindh and Punjab and the government wants to raise the procurement price before this timeframe in order to attract farmers for producing more food grain, enabling the country to come out from the list of wheat importing counties from the next year.
Pakistans local requirements including provision of 50,000 tonnes of wheat for war torn Afghanistan stood at over 22 million tones. If procurement prices increased to Rs 900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg and availability of water as well as timely rains occurred for barani areas, Pakistan can easily meet its domestic requirements, said the official and added that the country could even exports wheat from the next year by earning precious dollars for the national kitty, which is rapidly dried up owing to falling foreign currency reserves.
When a senor official at Finance Ministry was contacted for seeking his comments, he said that the weightage of wheat/flour stood at 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent in the existing highest inflation ever in the history of Pakistan. This inflationary pressure will start coming down even after the governments decision to jack up the support price for wheat for the next crop because the existing support price of Rs625 per 40 kg increased from the lower base. Now the governments expected decision to scale up the procurement price of Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg would not inflame inflationary pressure in the next year, he added.
The official was of the view that the urban consumer will have to pay more price of rotti/nan from the next year and added in the same breath that the consumers were still paying higher prices for wheat and the government wants to choose between two these scenarios and providing benefit to local farmers seems more feasible.
The government had imported wheat up to 1.6 million tons during the last financial year with cost of $847 million.
The government has decided to import 2.5 million tons wheat for the ongoing fi nancial year in order to meet local demands on one side and to avoid upsurge in price of the basic necessity of life for 160 million population of this country.
ISLAMABAD: The countrymen will be exposed to unprecedented inflation of 25to 26 per cent in next year, as the price of one kg flour (atta) will in open market will be at Rs40 per kg leading to Rs10 per naan and Rs8 for a chapatti.
This hike would take place just because of the decision that government is to take on Wednesday in the federal cabinet meeting by increasing the wheat support price to Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg from existing support price of 625 per kg. Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani will chair the cabinet meeting.
Official sources said: The government has decided, in principle, to give substantial raise in procurement price of wheat brining it at par with the existing international price of the food grain just to give maximum benefits to local farmers.
The same official also expressed fear, if the proposed support price of wheat gets approved for next crop, the unscrupulous influential would go for massive hoarding remaining period of the current year which is why the huge inflation would engulf the poor masses.
In case of an announcement of Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg wheat support price, every facility in the country would have additional burden of Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 per year. This will also increase the poverty rate in the country.
According to one study that 60 percent people in rural areas are affiliated with non-farm activities and they will have to purchase the wheat at higher cost.
The urban people would be bound to expose to the unprecedented inflation which would heighten more because of the increase in support price of wheat, a basic kitchen commodity.
The sowing of wheat is being done in October and November in Sindh and Punjab and the government wants to raise the procurement price before this timeframe in order to attract farmers for producing more food grain, enabling the country to come out from the list of wheat importing counties from the next year.
Pakistans local requirements including provision of 50,000 tonnes of wheat for war torn Afghanistan stood at over 22 million tones. If procurement prices increased to Rs 900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg and availability of water as well as timely rains occurred for barani areas, Pakistan can easily meet its domestic requirements, said the official and added that the country could even exports wheat from the next year by earning precious dollars for the national kitty, which is rapidly dried up owing to falling foreign currency reserves.
When a senor official at Finance Ministry was contacted for seeking his comments, he said that the weightage of wheat/flour stood at 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent in the existing highest inflation ever in the history of Pakistan. This inflationary pressure will start coming down even after the governments decision to jack up the support price for wheat for the next crop because the existing support price of Rs625 per 40 kg increased from the lower base. Now the governments expected decision to scale up the procurement price of Rs900 or Rs1,000 per 40 kg would not inflame inflationary pressure in the next year, he added.
The official was of the view that the urban consumer will have to pay more price of rotti/nan from the next year and added in the same breath that the consumers were still paying higher prices for wheat and the government wants to choose between two these scenarios and providing benefit to local farmers seems more feasible.
The government had imported wheat up to 1.6 million tons during the last financial year with cost of $847 million.
The government has decided to import 2.5 million tons wheat for the ongoing fi nancial year in order to meet local demands on one side and to avoid upsurge in price of the basic necessity of life for 160 million population of this country.
