Wheat exports up 100 percent in first six months

ISLAMABAD: On a year-on-year basis, wheat exports grew by 100 percent in the first six months of the current financial year mainly drawing brawn from a much needed boost in cultivation of the key cereal crop across the country, a report said on Friday

“Numbers issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that during July-December 2016-17, about 783 metric tons of wheat worth $0.229 million was sold to other countries compared to zero exports of the commodity in the same period last year,” an analyst said.

“Even on a month-on-month basis, exports of the staple cereal grain shot up by 100 percent as 310 metric tons of the commodities valuing $86,000 was sent abroad during December 2016 while no wheat was traded out of the country in the same month a year ago. Also, 200 metric tons of wheat worth $57, 000 was exported in November.”

The report added the wheat cultivation in Punjab and Sindh had witnessed an increased of 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent compared to last crop season respectively.

“Wheat crop was cultivated over 6,677 thousand hectares, showing an increase of 0.6 percent as compared to last year, while it was sown over 1,157 thousand hectares of land in Sindh registering a positive growth in crop sowing as against the last year,” an analyst said.

The report also informed the cash crop was planted over 597 thousand hectares and 362 thousand hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan respectively.

“The major cash crop of the season was cultivated over 8,793 thousand hectares of land across the country.”