IMF Allows Pakistan to Purchase Wheat for Strategic Reserves

Ahmed Umair Announces IMF Approval for Pakistan to Purchase Wheat from Local Farmers for Strategic Stockpile. He confirmed that the announced wheat price is not a fixed support price, but rather a guideline price subject to review. The Pakistani government plans to purchase approximately 6.2 million tons of wheat.

Ahmed Umair, the coordinator for agricultural affairs in the office of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reported that the International Monetary Fund has agreed to allow the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to purchase specific quantities of locally produced wheat from farmers, with the aim of building a strategic stockpile for the country, without specifying a ceiling or maximum size for this stockpile.

The Pakistani newspaper “Express Tribune” quoted Mr. Umair as confirming that the official announced price of wheat, which is 3500 Pakistani Rupees (equivalent to 12.37 US Dollars) per 40 kilograms, does not represent a fixed and unchangeable support price, but rather a guideline price determined based on international market trends, and is subject to review and adjustment according to emerging circumstances.

Bloomberg News Agency indicated that the office of the Pakistani Prime Minister announced the previous day that the federal government, in cooperation with regional governments, intends to purchase approximately 6.2 million tons of wheat at a price of 3500 Pakistani Rupees per 40 kilograms. Umair confirmed that the IMF’s approval of these purchases comes within the framework of efforts aimed at rebuilding the country’s wheat reserves, according to the German News Agency “DPA”.