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Worsening Flour Crisis Amid Skyrocketing Prices And Wheat Shortage Triggers Stampedes In Cash-Strapped Pakistan
Pic Via Twitter
Pakistan is currently facing a serious flour crisis due to a combination of economic issues, a shortage of foreign exchange, and the destruction of wheat crops in recent floods.
As a result, people are standing in long queues to buy a single bag of flour, and the price of flour has reached between Rs130-160 per kilogram.
The four mill owners have blamed the crisis on dwindling national stocks, claiming that the Pakistan government is only providing 30 per cent of the wheat quota, and that they are forced to buy 70 per cent of the wheat from the open market, reports Express Tribune.
However, the Pakistan food security ministry has rejected these claims, stating that there are 4.437 million tons of wheat available, which is sufficient to meet the country's needs until the new crop is ready in April.
In addition, it has been reported that 1.3 million tons of wheat will be imported.
The flour crisis in the cash-strapped country has led to an increase in prices and has caused chaotic scenes at flour distribution points, with reports of stampedes and injuries.
The provincial governments have taken steps to try to control the rising prices and increase the availability of flour, including increasing the sale points for cheap flour and taking action against hoarders.
Despite these efforts, the situation has continued to be dire, especially in Sindh province, with a father of seven dying in a stampede at a sale point of subsidised flour in the Mirpur Khas district and three women being injured in a stampede outside a flour mill in the Shaheed Benazirabad district.
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