Apart from the fiscal year of 2001-02, Pakistan has always been a wheat importer, says Dr Shakeel Farooqui, Chairman of the Department of Genetics, University of Karachi. However, research being conducted at the University of Karachi (KU) might change this situation.

The maximum quantity of wheat that has been imported into Pakistan in recent years has been 4.1 million tons, placing a great strain on the foreign exchange. By contrast, 1.3 million tons and 1.1 million tons, respectively, have been exported to Afghanistan at the rate of US$205 per metric ton, which is equivalent to Rs490 per 40 kg - a poor price caused by the low quality of wheat, said Dr Farooqui.

Two PhD researchers at the Department of Genetics, KU aim to bring wheat self-sufficiency in the country. The students are being supervised by Dr Farooqui.

“Every region in Pakistan produces wheat of a different quality. The quality of wheat grown in one area is not suitable for another, which makes it necessary to combine existing wheat varieties to introduce new ones,” he said.

“Unlike countries like Australia and the United States, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation unite all the types of wheat available and store it in their grain elevators. This lack of classification results in the low quality of wheat available in Pakistan,” said Dr Farooqui.

“Up until now, we have isolated 20 varieties of wheat from different regions of Pakistan. Most of them are bad quality wheat, and unfortunately, this has not been recognised before,” said Shireen Lahkani one of Dr Farooqui’s Research Associates. “We are transferring certain genes from one variety of wheat to another to combine the traits required for good quality and yield.”

“Our research is based on searching the glutenin, which is a particular form of protein derived from wheat, and contains 25 amino acids,” said Shireen Lakhani, one of Farooqui’s research associates. “Bread wheat contains three to six forms of amino acids, and is suitable for all types of bread and food preparations, except pasta.”

Lakhani explained that the quality of dough is a good indication of the quality of wheat: good dough has elasticity, a smooth texture, and tastes good, while poor quality dough is just the opposite.

Sarwat Afshan, another PhD scholar working with Farooqui, echoed the same information adding “We have acquired seeds from the four provinces and grown them in our department to check their yield. By crossing two varieties, we manage to get good yield and quality,” he said.

Afshan added that Pakistan has 57 varieties of wheat, but the best quality comes from Punjab, and is of such a high standard that it can be exported.