Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed to intensify actions against wheat hoarders and recover stored wheat, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chairing a meeting of Food Department in Karachi on Thursday, CM Murad Ali Shah directed to keep watching closely prices in the market and artificial shortages which should not be allowed to arise.
The Chief Minister directed a complete crackdown against hoarders and illegal profiteers.
He directed to submit report every fortnight containing stocks, purchases, operations and market trends.
The meeting reviewed the production, reserves, availability and future requirements of wheat in the province.
The meeting also reviewed the current prices of wheat and flour.
The meeting was briefed that more than 172,000 metric tons of hidden wheat have been exported from various flour mills.
The meeting was informed that the availability of wheat in the market has improved and flour prices have also stabilized.
According to briefing, 4.7 million metric tons of wheat were cultivated in Sindh in the 2025-26 season.
There is also a stock of 140,000 metric tons of last year.
Sindh may face a deficit of about 2.1 million metric tons of wheat by March 2027 due to the transfer and consumption of wheat outside the province.
Murad Ali Shah said wheat is a strategic commodity that is directly related to food security and public welfare.
Ensure the supply of additional wheat to meet the deficit of 2.1 million 10,000 metric tons of wheat by March 2027; Chief Minister directed.
Meeting was further briefed that as of July 15, 2026, about 2.6 million metric tons of wheat have been used or consumed in the province as 1.9 million metric tons include human consumption, 5 million metric tons transferred outside the province, 2 million metric tons of wheat reserved as seed for future sowing.
The province has a stock of about 2.24 million metric tons of wheat.
Currently, 1.23 million metric tons of wheat is available in the supply chain.
Flour mills have 4.8 million metric tons, while farmers have 5 million metric tons of wheat for personal use.
The Food Department currently has a total of 3.93 million metric tons of wheat.
Sindh will require about 4.35 million metric tons of wheat during the next eight months from July 15, 2026 to March 15, 2027.
Sindh CM objected that still, there is no account of 6.10 million metric tons of wheat.
Sindh CM directed Food Department to prepare a comprehensive wheat management plan to deal with the expected deficit and maintain adequate reserves.
Food Department informed the meeting that to meet the shortage of wheat, PASCO has offered to provide 220,000 metric tons of wheat to Sindh at Rs4,150 per 40 kg.
Even after this offer from PASCO, the province will continue to face a shortage of about 1.89 million metric tons of wheat, Murad Ali Shah said.
The Food Department proposed to purchase more wheat from PASCO to overcome the shortage of wheat.
CM said food security is among the top priorities of the government.
He said the government will take all possible steps to ensure food security.
He directed to ensure uninterrupted supply of wheat and flour at reasonable prices.
However, there is no immediate shortage of wheat in the province at present, CM said.
The meeting was attended by Provincial Ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Jam Khan Shoro, Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman, Muhammad Bakhsh Khan Mehar, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh on Rehabilitation Gian Chand Asrani, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi, Chairman CMIT Bilawal Memon, Secretary to the Chief Minister of Sindh Asif Jamil, Secretary Agriculture Zaman Narejo and Secretary Food Ghulam Abbas Naich and other concerned officers.
Reporter: Aajiz Jamali