October 26, 2005

 

Pakistan wheat output seen at 22 million tonnes this season

 

Pakistan aimed to grow 22 million tonnes of wheat this season due to increased availability of water and fertilisers, a senior agriculture ministry official said Wednesday.

 

Qadir Bux Baloch, agriculture development commissioner at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, told Dow Jones Newswires from Islamabad the production target was slightly higher than last year's actual production of 21.6 million tonnes.

 

"In a high-level meeting yesterday, we set a wheat production target of 22 million tonnes," Baloch said, adding the target was set keeping in view rising domestic consumption, which was estimated at 21.5 million tonnes this year.

 

He said the government has decided to increase the wheat support price for farmers to PKR415/40 kg from PKR400/40 kg last year to encourage farmers to grow more wheat.

 

"With increased availability of water and fertilisers and incentives to farmers, we hope to achieve the target," he said, adding water availability this season was estimated at 30 million hectares, up from 23 million hectares last year because of good monsoon rains.

 

Baloch said according to initial estimates, cotton crop output this year was estimated at 12.5 million bales, down from the original production target of 15 million bales.

 

"Floods in the last monsoon season damaged 300,000 acres, causing losses of around 1 million bales," he said.

 

"But actual output will be more than 12.5 million bales, as this figure is only the initial estimate."

 

Baloch said the October 8 massive earthquake in the mountainous region of Kashmir and North West Frontier Province would not affect the country's overall agriculture production.

 

"These areas are not agriculture production areas, so the earthquake will not impact overall agriculture production," he said.