(MENAFN) Pakistan's government has authorized a roughly $112 million contract to import 300,000 tons of wheat from Russia to make up for a domestic deficit.
The agreement, which was approved by the Economic Cooperation Committee on Monday, comes as Pakistan battles to balance its frail economy and deal with the repercussions of last summer's disastrous floods, which killed over 1,700 people and affected 33 million.
The wheat will be provided by Prodintorg, a Russian state enterprise, under the terms of the agreement. Pakistan last imported wheat from Russia in July 2020, in a government-to-government agreement worth a million tons.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan, the government institution in charge of commodity import and export, stated that Prodintorg has not been affected by sanctions implemented by Western countries in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February. Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's top wheat suppliers.
Pakistan aimed to produce 27 million tons of wheat domestically by 2022. However, due to a variety of factors, including water constraint and agricultural land redevelopment, experts predicted that yields would be reduced by 15%. The heavy floods that year wrought devastation in the country's south, destroying significant sections of cropland in Sindh and Balochistan regions.
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