It would not be the first time that Pakistan, once self-sufficient in wheat production, reels from crippling gaps in the local supply. But wheat imports skyrocketing by 2.435 per cent in just the first two months of the fiscal year, which roughly translated to a bill of 68.49 billion rupees is not something our cash-strapped economy can afford for long. Meanwhile, the unprecedented flooding in over one-third of the country has turbocharged an already brewing deficit and the sword of crisis has, indeed, fallen. Wheat and floor prices have soared through the roof, touching the historic high of Rs 125 per kilogram of flour in Punjab, the proverbial heartland where the government is striving hard to contain the threat through support pricing. The situation remains the most dire in Balochistan where mill owners have stepped in the open to castigate the government for its failure to procure the required wheat. Releasing 300 bags of wheat per day could not even begin to satisfy the needs of over 3.5 million people in Quetta alone, they sighed. More pressing remains the bullish speculation about prices, gaining credence in the notorious activities of a buzzing mafia circuit. Even before the catastrophic damages had set in, experts were ringing alarming bells over the need to import another four million tonnes of grain this year; shattering the widely-talked-about hopes of winning a 30 million target. Just a year after farmers in Pakistan relished a bumper season after ages, DAP and urea crises had forced them to switch to crops like potatoes: shrinking the overall acreage. This speaks volumes about the critical vulnerability of our green-growers, who are in no position whatsoever to brace a single shock in the raw materials. However, now that a spell five times heavier than usual has rendered farmlands in Sindh and Balochistan inhospitable for the cultivation of wheat, the Sindh cabinet’s decision to fix support prices cannot do much to revive agriculture. There are looming fears of the shortages continuing their grip onto next year and thus, Russia’s offer regarding wheat supplies should be utilised on an immediate basis. Pakistan is in no position to waste any opportunity to tilt the balance in its favour. Period. *