The wheat crisis

By: Zaimal Arif

Pakistan has been one of the most backward nations in the world with many critical social conditions. Food crisis has been one of the worst problems in Pakistan this year where people are facing shortage of wheat grains.

Wheat is an essential food and the most important food grain for humans. As Pakistan has been one of the major wheat producing countries but due to the recent summer floods of 2022 where Pakistan’s infrastructure and food supply were badly affected and more than 2 million houses were destroyed and the lands that were used for crops were damaged. This also led to high inflation in the flow of wheat.

The price of wheat ranges from Rs 140 to Rs 160 in different provinces of Pakistan. Meanwhile, a 10 kg bag of flour costs Rs 1,500 and a 20 kg bag costs Rs 2,800. In Pakistan’s Sindh province, thousands of people lined up outside a park to buy wheat flour. When the trucks arrived with wheat, the crowd attacked and many people were injured. A man named Har Singh Kolhi was crushed to death in the crowd. People were fighting over wheat stocks and some of them were protesting on the street for food. Pakistani people were already living below the poverty line but now they should not die due to food inflation crisis. The hardships innocent people are facing due to rising food prices is very sad. These destitute people are forced to spend hours every day for bags of flour.

Not only wheat but other essential commodities are also becoming expensive. The government should see these innocent people struggling for wheat in this harsh winter, it should take some steps to deal with this price of wheat and flour and overcome the shortage of the product. Even Parvez Elahi takes action to deal with the wheat crisis in Punjab.

Published in The Balochistan Point on February 5, 2023