Record hike in flour price termed alarming

ISLAMABAD, Sep 06 (SABAH): FPCCI’s Presidential candidate Atif Ikram Sheikh on Tuesday said the country is currently suffering from an economic, political, climatic, public health and law and order crisis.

In these dire circumstances, the price of flour has reached the highest level in the country’s history, which is tantamount to punishing the people suffering from poverty and runaway inflation, he said. 

Atif Ikram Sheikh said that the price of flour has reached one hundred and thirty rupees per kg in different cities, which is unjustified and beyond the reach of the poor.

Immediate steps should be taken to deal with this problem otherwise the situation will go out of control, he warned.

While talking to the business community, the business leader said that unrest may spread across the country if the price of flour continues to rise and administrative measures were avoided.

He said that despite the fertile land and the best canal system in the world, we see a wheat crisis every year.

The reasons behind the crisis are hoarding, profiteering, reduction in cultivated area, the rising cost of fertilizers, seeds, diesel and other commodities and substandard seeds creating difficulties for farmers and consumers overburdened by the highest inflation in nearly five decades.

The country could face severe flour shortage if the current situation remains unaddressed, he warned.

He said that per acre production of wheat in Pakistan is 15% less than neighbouring India and 20% less than the world average.

In order to ensure food security amid a growing population, an annual increase of at least three percent in wheat production per acre is necessary.