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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
KARACHI: The country may face another wheat crisis this year. It is anticipated that wheat production target of 24 million tonnes for current season could not be achieved.
Wheat harvesting in Sindh (areas located in Left Bank of Indus River including Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad and Nawab Shah) has commenced but crop will take two week further to reap in some parts of province located in Right Bank Canal and more than one month in Punjab.
Even before start of harvesting farmers and agriculture experts are estimating a short fall of 10 to 15 percent in total production target of wheat particularly in Sindh. The sources informed that grain could not gain the required size and weight due to non-availability of fertilizers and scarcity of irrigation water.
In southern Punjab wheat harvesting starts in first week of April gradually picking pace in north. In Punjab wheat was sown over an area of 10.55 million acres against a government fixed target of 10.65 million acres, similarly in Sindh the sowing target was 982,000 hectares of which it could be cultivated over an area of 972,000 hectares.
Besides bellow target sowing the shortage and high prices of fertilizers particular Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) now selling at Rs2,600 per bag against Rs900 per bag of last season and scarcity of irrigation water are the major the major factors which are attributed short production of wheat this year.
In Sindh per acre yield reduced by 15 to 20 percent as compared to previous years, as in last harvesting season per acre yield in Sindh was recorded 22 maund per acre which is reported 17-18 maund per acre this year.
Sindh Agriculture Department official told that due to shortage of water and late sowing the weight and size of grain is smaller. On the basis of these existing circumstances market forces are anticipating that country may have to face another wheat crisis during this calendar.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
