Pakistan is passing through the worst phase ever. Flour prices have been skyrocketing in the country for the past several weeks. Flour prices have broken all records in Karachi and other parts of the country. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a 20 kg bag of wheat flour has reached 3,100 Pakistani rupees (about 910 Indian rupees). The people of Pakistan are suffering the most due to the huge increase in prices. Long queues are being seen for government-subsidized flour.
What has happened to flour in Pakistan?
Flour prices have broken all records in Karachi and other parts of the country. According to the latest reports, the people of Karachi are forced to buy the costliest flour in the country. Here flour is being sold for up to 155 Pakistani rupees per kg. A 20 kg bag of flour has become costlier by PKR 200 in the last week in the city and is available for PKR 3100. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, people are buying flour at this price.
How deep is the flour crisis in Pakistan?
According to the report of the Bureau of Statistics, in a week, a bag of flour has become expensive by 200 Pakistani rupees in Multan, 100 Pakistani rupees in Peshawar, 80 Pakistani rupees in Hyderabad, and 30 Pakistani rupees in Quetta.
According to official data, a 20 kg bag of flour has reached Rs 2,850 in Khujdar, Rs 2,800 in Hyderabad, Rs 2,780 in Quetta, Rs 2,750 in Peshawar, Rs 2,640 in Larkana, Rs 2,600 in Sukkar and Multan. The price of a bag of flour reached 2550 Pakistani rupees in Bannu, 2533 rupees in Gujranwala, and 2250 rupees in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Sialkot. However, due to government subsidies, a bag of flour is available for Rs 1,295 in all major cities of Punjab, including Lahore and Islamabad.
According to a report, the prices of 5 kg and 10 kg bags of flour in Pakistan have almost doubled compared to a year ago. In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, a naan is being sold for Rs 30 while a roti is being sold for Rs 25.
What is the impact of the shortage?
The people of Pakistan have to bear the burden of the increased prices of flour. Long lines formed outside distribution centers in many cities. The situation is such that on Monday people snatched more than one thousand flour bags from two free flour distribution centers located at Kot Radha Kishan and Kanganpur in Lahore. On the other hand, in Phulnagar, hundreds of people blocked Multan Road near the Phulnagar bypass and protested against the non-supply of flour despite a long wait.
People looted 280 bags of flour from the distribution center at Jamsher Kalan in Kanganpur. The officials kept asking people to follow the procedure but people including women attacked and looted the truck carrying bags of flour. Similarly, a truck carrying bags of flour was attacked by a mob in front of the municipal committee in Kot Radha Kishan and 781 bags were looted. The Patwari here has given an application to the police to register a case against unknown assailants for snatching a bag of flour.
What is the reason for the crisis?
Pakistan's central and provincial governments are blaming each other for the crisis. At the same time, experts believe that the Russia-Ukraine war, the devastating flood of 2022, and wheat smuggling in Afghanistan are the reasons for the crisis. Wheat prices have increased massively in Sindh and Baluchistan, whose stocks have been destroyed due to floods. According to the Planning Commission of Pakistan, the floods caused a loss of $3.725 billion to agriculture and its allied sectors.
The smuggling of wheat in Afghanistan is also a major reason, why there is a shortage. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shares the Porus border with Afghanistan. People smuggle wheat to the neighboring country to get more profit.
Pakistan imports wheat to meet its consumption needs, most of which come from Russia and Ukraine. In 2020, Pakistan imported wheat worth $1.01 billion, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). The maximum wheat worth $496 million came from Ukraine, while wheat worth $394 million came from Russia.
What is the government doing?
Advisor to the Prime Minister Ahad Khan Cheema reached Lahore on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. Here he along with Punjab Chief Secretary visited the free flour centers in the city and reviewed the distribution process in Samanabad and Sabjjar. The Chief Secretary listened to the complaints of the people and ordered the concerned officers to redress them. He has given instructions to immediately solve the problems faced by the people in getting free flour and to complete the process from verification to supply in the least possible time.
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