Disclosing that the country’s total public sector wheat stocks have shrunk to less than three weeks of consumption level, Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has highlighted  the need to build six million metric tons of strategic reserves of the food crop through imports, Tribune reported.

Pakistan’s estimated production of wheat this year is slightly over 26 million metric tons - three million tons short of coming year’s total consumption requirements, according to the proceedings of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC), a consultative group that did not have any legal mandate to take decisions.

The finance minister also stressed on he need to improve the reporting mechanisms of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), showing his dissatisfaction over its standards.

The meeting was informed that the total wheat stocks across the country were 647,687 metric tons as of last week, which at current consumption levels would last for hardly two-and-a-half weeks. By April end, the stocks would further deplete to 384,000 metric tons – the time when harvesting of the new crop will be in full swing.

Last year, the wheat production was 26 million metric tons and the country had imported 2.16 million metric tons of the commodity to fulfill the domestic wheat requirements.

The meeting was informed that for the year 2021-22, the wheat consumption is estimated at 29.3 million metric tons and the government will have to import three million metric tons to meet the country’s requirement.