KARACHI: Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body on Wednesday approved the disposal of surplus government wheat stocks and a major inter-provincial allocation to stabilize domestic flour prices, as Islamabad seeks to manage food security risks while containing fiscal pressures.
The decisions come as Pakistan grapples with food inflation sensitivity, climate-related supply disruptions and the fiscal burden of carrying large public stocks. Wheat, the country’s staple food, is politically and economically critical because flour prices directly affect household inflation and living costs, and past volatility has triggered public unrest and costly emergency imports.
On Wednesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet authorized the sale of 500,000 metric tons of wheat held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), the federal grain procurement agency, through competitive bidding. It also approved the release of 300,000 metric tons to the Punjab government to ensure uninterrupted supplies to flour mills, according to an official statement issued by the Finance Division.
“The disposal of 500,000 metric tons of PASSCO wheat stock through competitive bidding aims at managing surplus stocks, reducing carrying and storage costs, and ensuring price stability in the domestic wheat market while safeguarding food security considerations,” the Finance Division said in a statement following the ECC meeting.
In a related move, the committee approved the provision of PASSCO wheat to Punjab, the country’s most populous province and a key driver of national wheat consumption, to help maintain adequate supplies for flour mills and prevent supply chain disruptions, the statement said.
Beyond food security, the ECC approved a technical supplementary grant - an off-budget allocation used to meet urgent funding needs - of Rs 10.98 billion ($39 million) to clear long-standing liabilities owed by the Pakistan Post Office Department to utility companies, part of broader efforts to address inter-government arrears that have strained public sector finances.
In the health sector, the committee authorized Rs 29.66 billion ($106 million) for the Federal Directorate of Immunization to ensure uninterrupted procurement of vaccines and syringes under the Expanded Program on Immunization, a move aimed at sustaining routine immunization coverage and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The ECC also approved a Rs 23.42 billion ($84 million) subsidy package for imported urea, to be shared equally between the federal and provincial governments, as authorities seek to cushion farmers from rising fertilizer costs and limit spillover effects on food prices.
