ISLAMABAD, MAR 12 /DNA/ – The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, and the President and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Wednesday that urgent wheat imports may be needed to save the country from a food security crisis.
He stressed that along with imports, a government-led operation should be launched against hoarders and profiteers across the country. Without such intervention, the situation will only deteriorate.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that farmers in many areas are growing other crops instead of wheat in the absence of a support price, which is decreasing the area under wheat cultivation and affecting production.
Addressing the business community, the veteran business leader underscored that wheat production has also been hampered in many areas due to scant rainfall. If immediate steps are not taken to address this alarming situation, a grave food crisis may loom large.
The business leader pointed out that Pakistan, once a wheat-exporting country, has been forced to rely on wheat imports for many years. The root causes include unnecessary government intervention in the wheat market, profiteering, water scarcity, climate change, substandard agricultural chemicals, expensive fertilizers, poor-quality seeds, and unavailability of loans to farmers, all of which are wreaking havoc on all crops, including wheat.
He said that the smuggling of wheat and artificial shortages are also adding to the problems, while the needs of the growing population are also increasing continuously.
In addition, due to the lack of education and training, farmers are farming in old-fashioned ways, which leads to increased water loss. At the same time, production is low, he observed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that urgent imports are fundamental to averting a crisis, keeping prices stable, and maintaining the food security situation.
In addition, it is necessary to provide wheat on a subsidy to the poorest people so that their financial problems can be reduced.
He said that last year, due to a good harvest, the market prices of wheat stabilised, and the problems of the common consumer had been reduced to a considerable extent, but now the situation is changing.
Wheat production is expected to be 11 percent lower this year than last year. Last year, it was 31.4 million metric tons, while this year, it is expected to be 27.9 million metric tons. In these circumstances, the government should consider purchasing wheat on a large scale from local farmers.
Suppose the Punjab government does not purchase wheat this year as it did last year. In that case, the food security situation may worsen. Mian Zahid Hussain further said that the central and provincial governments should take immediate steps to save the country from economic and political instability and to ensure the supply of wheat across the country.
