An increase in the area planted with wheat, an early end of the cotton crop that made way for wheat sowing and a higher procurement price the government pays farmers were all reasons for the higher output, they said.
‘The target of 25 million tonnes is achievable,’ said Ibrahim Mughal, chairman of the Agri-Forum farmers' association.
‘But in case of unfavourable weather, output is expected to be between 24 million and 25 million tonnes.’
Pakistan produced 21.8 million tonnes of wheat in the 2007/08 crop after the area under cultivation fell 2.6 per cent against a target area of 21 million acres (8.49 million hectares), and the government had to import wheat to cover the shortfall and for reserves.
Pakistan consumes about 22 million tonnes of wheat a year while nearly one million tonnes finds its way to neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran, traders say.
According to the industry officials wheat has been sown over an area of about 22 million acres, largely because of a 52 per cent increase in the procurement price to 950 rupees ($12.05) that encouraged farmers to grow more.
‘The response of farmers has been very good to the increase in procurement price and that is the reason for the increase in the area planted with wheat,’ said Zahoor Agha, a top official of the private All Pakistan Flour Mills Association.
‘God willing, we will achieve the target of 25 million tonnes,’ he said.
Domestic wheat prices had become more competitive compared with the cost of imported wheat because of lower prices in the international market.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan set to achieve 25 mln-tonne wheat target: Dawn
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