The Wheat Crisis
By the Editor

OVER the past several weeks – Pakistan is facing acute shortage of wheat flour, prima facie due to hoarding by elements – which are minting money at the cost of the poor consumers.

Whereas, flour is in such a short supply that the retailers are charging double of the price – officials responsible to check price-hike are sitting at rest.

Thus the entire blame is on the Government for its failure to ensure adequate supply of the staple food to the people.

Short supply of wheat has become a bone of contention among the Provincial Governments and the millers.

The millers are blaming that they were not getting adequate quotas while the Provinces say that they were releasing sufficient quantity as per requirements.

The Federal Food Minister has claimed that the availability of wheat is improving fast but the situation on the ground is quite contrary.

What is surprising is that no action is being initiated against those who are responsible to ensure that the wheat stocks released are grinded by the flour mills.

Though the Government is trying to provide flour through the Utility Stores – yet it has limited capacity and most of the flour requirement is being met by the private sector.

It is a pity that at frequent intervals the nation faces shortage of one item or the other of the essential commodities like sugar last year and cartels make huge profits at the cost of the customers.

Now wheat prices have touched the peak of Rs 21000 per ton with an upsurge of Rs 3000 making the lives of the poor masses miserable.

At the time of harvesting of last wheat crop, it was estimated that there was record production and even the Government allowed export of one million tons of wheat.

We think, these problems of scarcity are due to ill planning, poor system of estimation of the size of the crops, smuggling and market manipulation.

Certain quarters blame that wheat flour is being smuggled to Afghanistan and other neighboring countries because the prices in Pakistan of this commodity are much lower.

Seemingly, there is some weight in this argument but again it is the responsibility of the government to check the menace of smuggling.

It is, thus apt time that the authorities responsible to keep eye on items of daily use should draw up a solid strategy.

Such a policy is ought to assess and measure the annual requirements of different items in such a way, whereby availability of all items – necessary to survive – are made available to people in adequate quantity and sans any taxing scenario.●