Second wheat ship docks at Karachi Port with 59,132 tonnes for KP; imports pass 110,000 tonnes

A second ship carrying imported wheat, the MV Great Rainbow, has berthed at Karachi Port with 59,132 tonnes for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking government wheat imports this season past 110,000 tonnes, ARY News reported. The cargo is being unloaded at berths 16 and 17.

The two wheat shipments so far

The wheat is being imported through the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). ARY did not report the country of origin or the price paid per tonne.

Will atta get cheaper?

The arrivals are expected to improve supply and could ease wheat and flour prices across the country, ARY reported, but no official has given a figure or a date. The KP share matters most: the province grows far less wheat than it eats and buys much of its flour from Punjab, so supply cuts or inter-provincial movement bans hit Peshawar and the rest of KP first.

In September, Punjab and KP cut their wheat import demand by 200,000 tonnes (our report), so the shipments now arriving are part of a smaller plan than first proposed.

Separately, Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain has asked private seed companies to lower wheat seed prices for farmers ahead of the sowing season.

What to watch

• Release prices: the rate at which provincial food departments release imported wheat to flour mills decides the atta bag price.
• More ships: further TCP cargoes would show whether the government expects a gap before the 2027 harvest.

We are building a daily wheat and flour price page; until then, the CPI inflation page shows how food prices are feeding into inflation.