Stabilizing Pakistan's Supply of Wheat: Issues in the Optimization of Storage and Trade Policies

Abstract

The variability of Pakistan's wheat production in recent years has highlighted the need for the country to develop a storage and trade strategy which takes into account the needs of producers, consumers, and the government. Production variability is a problem despite the fact that cereal production is considerably less unstable in Pakistan than in most other countries in the world, primarily because of the presence of irrigation works [14]. Nevertheless, the country has experienced three significant shortfalls in wheat production in the last nine years, and is presently faced with the different but no less severe problem of an exceptionally large crop. A strategy is needed for dealing with both production shortfalls and surpluses.