January 28, 2019: Wheat crop has been cultivated over 8.687 million hectares of land across the country as against 8.893 million hectare set targets for current Rabi Season to fulfill the domestic requirements and for export.

The crop sowing had witnessed an increasing trend as compared to the sowing of same period of last year which was recorded at 8.833 million hectares, said an official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

He also said that overall wheat sowing targets, which were fixed for the crop season 2018-19, have been achieved by 98.35 percent.

Moreover, he informed that wheat sowing had witnessed encouraging response in Punjab Province during current sowing season as compared the same period of last year.

In Punjab wheat crop have been sown over 6.564 million hectares of land as against the target of 6.515 million hectares, adding the sowing target was fixed on the basis of previous year, during which wheat was sown on the land of 6.515 million hectares.

Meanwhile, in Sindh the cultivation target of 91.05 percent has been achieved where the crop has been sown on 1.0471 million hectares of land against the target of 1.1695 million acres.

The wheat sowing in Sindh Province during same period of last year was sown on 1.1500 million hectares of land, he added.

Likewise, in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, wheat was sown on 0.687 hectares of land against the target of 0.7607 million hectares, which is 89.41 percent of the target sowing. Last year, the crops was sown on 0.7684 million hectares of land.

In Balochistan, 97.25 percent target has been achieved, where the crop has been sown on 0.389 million hectares against the target cultivation of 0.3941 million hectares. Last year, the crop was sown on 0.4000 million hectares of land.

It is worth mentioning here that wheat exports during first half of current financial year had also witnessed tremendous increase as about 461,373 metric tons worth $ 97.237 million were exported as compared the exports of 173 metric tons valuing $0.045 million of same period of the last year.

On month on month basis, wheat exports grew by 191.58 percent in December, 2018, as compared the same month of last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

During the period under review, about 3,365 metric tons of wheat worth $0.813 million exported as compared the exports of the same month of last year.

(APP)

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