Pakistan’s wheat production projected to soar to 28m tonnes: USDA

Pakistan is projected to produce 28 million tonnes of wheat, significantly higher than last year’s production and exceeding the average for the country over the last 5 years (2018-2022), according to the forecast by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA forecasts a bumper harvest of all major crops in Pakistan for 2023/24. Major crops in the country include wheat, rice, sugarcane, corn, and cotton.

These offer welcome relief for Pakistani farmers who suffered devastating losses in the epic floods 2022.

As per the forecast Pakistan is expected to produce 10.5m tonnes of corn (maize), 9m tonnes of rice, 6.5m bales of cotton, 7.8m tonnes of sugar, and 540,000 tonnes of rapeseed (canola) in 2023/24.

To note, potato production jumped 50% to 7.74m tonnes in 2022, according to Potato Business.

According to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture, Pakistan will still need to import wheat but a lower amount than last year.

The record harvest will help lower the country’s forecasted import needs from 3m to 2m tonnes in 2023-24 even as total consumption grows to 30.2m tonnes from 29.2m tonnes. The country imported 2.6m tonnes last marketing year.

Moreover, higher cotton production in Pakistan will result in 2.3m tonnes of cottonseed oil in 2023/24, a 34% increase over the 2022/23 output.

This increase reflects expectations for a recovery in yield following the flood-damaged 2022/23 output.

This will help reduce cooking oil imports, the country’s largest food import this year. Last year, Pakistan imported $4.5 billion worth of edible oil.

Pakistan expects to export 5m tons of rice worth $3bn this year. India’s ban on non-basmati rice exports will likely help Pakistani exporters fetch higher prices on the world market.

Pakistan’s agriculture output is the 10th largest in the world. The country produces large and growing quantities of cereals, meat, milk, fruits and vegetables.

Currently, Pakistan produces over 40m tonnes of cereals (mainly wheat, rice, and corn), 17m tonnes of fruits and vegetables, 70m tonnes of sugarcane, 60m tonnes of milk, and 4.5m tonnes of meat, as per Reuters.

The total value of the nation’s agricultural output exceeds $50bn.

Improving agriculture inputs and modernizing value chains can help the farm sector become much more productive to serve both domestic and export markets.

Tags: wheat, rapeseed, forecast, corn, imports, USDA, cooking oil, bumper harvest, cotton, canola, sugarcane, prices, rice, Pakistan, Production