ISLAMABAD: With the arrival of 60,804 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine on Wednesday, Pakistan has once again become a wheat importing country.

Bulk carrier YM Summit carrying the wheat cargo was berthed at Karachi Port.

Meanwhile, Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam announced a futuristic approach to increase wheat production by ten per cent in the country.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr Imam said that by end September, the country will have 488,000 tonnes of imported wheat which will help stabilise the wheat market.

Another vessel carrying 130,000 tonnes of wheat will be docked at the Karachi Port on August 28, the minister added.

Elaborating on the futuristic approach, the minister said the policy will consist of short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.

Under the short-term policy, experts and planners at the Ministry of National Food Security and Research have started their calculations for the next Rabi season which begins in October-November.

The minister said that wheat is grown on 20 million acres of land throughout the country which requires 11,00,000 tonnes of wheat seed. “400,000 tonnes of seed have already been assessed and approved by the federal seed certification department.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020