ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top economic decision-making body on Wednesday approved the formation of a high-powered committee to assess provincial wheat requirements and devise a mechanism for imports, days after the government announced plans to import one million tons of the staple to ease shortages and stabilize prices.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), chaired virtually by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, approved the creation of a steering committee to assess the need for wheat imports, according to a Finance Ministry statement.
The steering committee will be led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
"The Steering Committee will, inter alia, do the need assessment and devise operational mechanism with reference to proposal of wheat import and demand of provinces," the Finance Ministry said.
The decision comes less than a week after Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain announced that Pakistan would immediately import one million tons of wheat amid reports of shortages, particularly in Sindh, and rising flour prices in parts of the country.
Other than Hussain himself, the steering committee will include the ministers for commerce, economic affairs and law, along with senior federal officials, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, the chairman of the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan and the chief secretaries of all four provinces.
Last year, the Federal Committee on Agriculture had set a production target of 29.68 million tons for the 2025-26 Rabi or winter season, but the country's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) estimated output at 27.48 million tons in May, citing lower cultivated area and weaker-than-expected yields.
Pakistan, one of the world's largest wheat producers, periodically imports the staple grain when domestic production falls short of demand or market supplies tighten.
Reports suggest that wheat production in Pakistan has declined in recent years, though the US Department of Agriculture's April 2025 forecast placed the country's annual wheat consumption at 31.9 million tons for 2025-26 amid population growth.
