Re: Scandal in the making: Wheat production numbers exaggerated
bit more facts and background info and lot less conspiracy theory would lend a bit more credibility to your “analysis”.
as the story below makes clear, global wheat prices over the last few months have been hitting record highs:
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Business/Article.aspx?id=565047](http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Business/Article.aspx?id=565047)
“EUROPEAN and US wheat prices hit all- time highs this week amid production woes in Canada, Australia and Europe that have helped cut global wheat stocks to the smallest in 30 years.
Drought has returned to Australia, bringing the spectre of withered crops, hungry livestock, grain imports and another surge in the global price of wheat…”
as far as pakistan is concerned govt fixes wheat price in advance to ensure that both consumers as well as producers are insulated from adverse movement of market prices. if market prices fall too low, wheat producers wont grow enough wheat which will cause wheat shortage. otoh, if prices rise too high, consumers wont be able to afford this basic food staple which will cause social unrest.
end of last fiscal year, govt allowed wheat exports since wheat production was greater than demand. however since intl prices were much higher than local prices, wheat producers naturally stopped selling in local market and instead started doing their dhunda with exporters because exporters were offering much higher prices. once govt realised that wheat exports were causing shortages in local markets, it disallowed exports.
currently since export prices are much higher than local prices, wheat producers are hoarding wheat to force govt to increase wheat support prices. in order to pressurize local wheat producers to sell in local markets, govt has decided to import wheat which it will sell at a loss in order to reduce domestic wheat prices. ultimately loss will be bourne by tax payer but since that loss cannot be observed directly, its much safer, politically speaking, for the government to follow this course of action.
btw pak is now one of the major wheat producing countries in the world. pak wheat production is 1/3 of that of india despite the fact that india’s population is 7x larger i.e. per capita wheat consumption is much higher in pak. some info on indian wheat production including current crises:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aNW_lv3Q_dt8&refer=india
India’s Wheat Availability Falls Short of Demand, Minister Says