PM Shehbaz Sharif-led govt faces trouble after fall in wheat production
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government is now facing new trouble due to flour and wheat crisis in the country.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government is now facing new trouble due to the flour and wheat crisis in the country, whereas, the chances of imports of wheat stocks are also lowered due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The wheat crisis in the country began to rise while the low production of wheat became new trouble for the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government. The wheat production target for the current season was set at 28.8 million tonnes, but according to experts, wheat production is expected to be 26.1 million tonnes.
The total demand for wheat in the country is 300 million tonnes, so now the government has to immediately manage the stock of 3 million to 3.5 million tonnes of wheat, which will cause another trouble for the government because the price in the global market is very high and Pakistan always imports cheap wheat from Ukraine and Russia.
After the Ukraine-Russia war, it will be difficult for Pakistan to procure wheat at low prices, whereas, the wheat and flour are smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan and it also causes a double shortage in Pakistan. Since the US and allied forces are no longer present in Afghanistan, there is no way to buy wheat directly for Afghanistan. Under such circumstances, there is no balance between wheat production, stocks and demand in Pakistan, which will exacerbate the wheat crisis in Pakistan.
The flour mills association is also mulling over a way out to deal with the crisis and it complained that the government is not providing them wheat at discounted or government rates due to which they have to buy wheat from the open market and in such circumstances, they excused from providing the wheat at discounted rates or with subsidy.
The growing difficulties for the flour mills association are also increasing the demand for flour in the country and thus widening the gap between the supply and demand of flour which is causing a shortage in the country.
Economists said that the PTI government failed to provide fertilizers and DAP to the farmers this season, which has led to lower wheat production, whereas, the higher temperatures in April and early ripening of wheat grains reduced the yield per acre.
They said that whatever the cause of the crisis, the people will now embrace this crisis because they want bread from the present government. Wheat is now a raw material all over the world including in Pakistan and thousands of bakery items are produced from it. The crisis of wheat will make double bread, tandoori bread including buns more expensive.
