Amid wheat crisis, Pak farmers urge govt to impose 'agricultural emergency'

Lahore [Pakistan], January 12 (ANI): Amid the ongoing wheat crisis in Pakistan, the farmer's body, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) on Wednesday urged the authorities to impose an agricultural emergency in the country, The Express Tribune reported.

At a press conference, PKI President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar criticized the government's policy and claimed that as a result, the nation would still need to buy wheat in 2023.

The PKI leader also referred to market fertilizer shortages and urged the government to take prompt action. Due to low yields of crops that are utilized as industrial raw materials, Khokhar added, "fertilizer shortages will also have an impact on exports."

The Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces have not made any announcements, while Sindh has set a support price for wheat of PKR 4,000 per maund.

Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis with parts of the country reporting a shortage of wheat and stampedes reported from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan provinces.

Prices of wheat and flour have skyrocketed amid the ongoing crisis in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.

Flour in Karachi is being sold from Rs 140 per kilogram to Rs 160 per kilogram. In Islamabad and Peshawar, a 10 kg bag of flour is being sold at Rs 1,500 per kilogram while a 20-kilogram bag of flour is being sold at Rs 2,800. Mill owners in Punjab province have increased the price of flour to Rs 160 per kilogram.

Balochistan's Minister for Food Zamarak Achakzai has said that the wheat stock in the province had "completely ended." He said that Balochistan immediately needed 400,000 sacks of wheat and warned that otherwise, the crisis could intensify.

Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing the worst-ever flour crisis as a bag of 20-kilogram flour is being sold for Rs 3100 after the government failed to control the price of the stable, The News International reported. (ANI)