ISLAMABAD: The removal of the official purchases of wheat at the minimum support price since 2024 has contributed to increased market availability, as farmers, unable to sell to the government, released gre­ater volumes into the open market, exerting additional downward pressure on prices.

The Food Price Monitoring and Analysis of the Food and Agriculture Orga­n­isation (FAO) says the retail wheat flour prices followed mixed trends in March and were significantly lower year-on-year, mostly weig­hed down by abundant market supplies from the record 2024 production.

The report says global wheat export prices also decreased in March 2025. Similar to maize, uncertainty over rising global trade tensions weighed on market sentiments, along with reduced import demand from China.

In addition to the uncertainty surrounding the tariff revisions of the United States, a preliminary forecast for 2025-26 indicating an expansion in wheat area in Canada contributed to a 3 per cent decline in the Canadian quotations. Signs of improving crop conditions in the US were also behind a 3 per cent decline in the benchmark US values.

As competitors in Asian markets, the declines in North American prices also put pressure on the Australian prices, which dropped by 3 per cent in March, report says.

Declines in world prices of grains were further driven by the arrival of the seasonal Southern Hemi­sphere supplies, weaker global import demand and diminished concerns over crop production concerns in some major exporters.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2025