On 21 April 2022, the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia approved a new procurement price at which the Food Production Support Company (Empresa de Apoyo a la Producción de Alimentos, EMAPA) will buy the 2022 main “winter” wheat crop, to be harvested from mid-July. The price increased from USD 235/tonne in 2021 to USD 290/tonne, and the volume of purchases was agreed at about 211 600 tonnes, a significant increase from 130 000 tonnes in 2021.

The government also introduced a credit support scheme under the Crédito para la Sustitución de Importaciones (SIBOLIVIA) programme, providing wheat farmers with loans at an annual interest rate of 0.5  percent (vis-à-vis more than 5 percent in commercial banks).

These measures aim to expand main season plantings to 150 000 hectares, more than 15 percent above the average, and to boost domestic supplies amid rising wheat flour prices. In the capital, La Paz market, wholesale prices of wheat flour rose sharply in March following upward trends in international markets and, as of March 2022, prices were more than 25 percent higher year on year. Imports of wheat, mostly from Argentina, satisfy about 60 percent of the domestic consumption requirement.