Wheat crackdown pushes prices down in Sindh

HYDERABAD: Recent, albeit bela­ted, government action against wheat hoarding has triggered a downward trend in grain prices in Sindh.

An unrelenting surge in wheat prices in the open market forced the government to pull up its socks and launch a crackdown to ensure the availability of flour at affordable prices for consumers, who are already burdened by high fuel costs.

Following the crackdown, wheat prices have fallen to around Rs10,800 per 100kg from Rs11,800 a few days earlier, according to a Hyderabad-based chakki owner.

Sindh Food Secretary Ghulam Abbas Naich said: “The price of 40kg wheat has dropped from Rs4,600 to Rs4,100 in Karachi as a result of the government’s action against hoarding. The drive against hoarding will continue to recover wheat and stabilise the market.” He disclosed that the government had recovered around 85,000 tonnes of wheat during the recent operation.

100kg bag rate drops by Rs1,000 to Rs10,800

100kg bag rate drops by Rs1,000 to Rs10,800

Sindh is estimated to have produced 4.8m tonnes of wheat during the 2025-26 season, according to initial estimates of the provincial agriculture department, around 1m tonnes higher than the 2024-25 output of 3.542m tonnes.

Government and market sources told Dawn on Monday that the grain had been hoarded by influential individuals who dominate the ginning, rice and flour milling sectors and have deep roots in the government. Tackling the hoarding proved a gigantic task, especially when measured against the government’s wheat procurement target of one million tonnes........

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