Wheat Crisis: Pakistan Farmers Request Govt to Declare ‘Agricultural Emergency’

PKI President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar criticised the government's policy at a press conference, claiming that as a result, the country would still need to buy wheat in 2023.

The PKI leader also mentioned market fertilizer shortages and urged the government to act quickly. Khokhar added that "fertiliser shortages will also have an impact on exports" due to low yields of crops used as industrial raw materials.

The provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have made no announcements, while Sindh has set a wheat support price of PKR 4,000 per maund. Pakistan is experiencing its worst-ever flour crisis, with parts of the country reporting wheat shortages and stampedes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan provinces.

Wheat and flour prices have skyrocketed as a result of Pakistan's ongoing crisis, according to sources.

In Karachi, flour is priced between Rs 140 and Rs 160 per kilogramme. In Islamabad and Peshawar, a 10 kg bag of flour costs Rs 1,500 per kilogramme, while a 20 kg bag of flour costs Rs 2,800. The price of flour in Punjab province has risen to Rs 160 per kilogramme.

Balochistan's Minister for Food, Zamarak Achakzai, has stated that the province's wheat stock has "completely ended." He stated that Balochistan urgently required 400,000 sacks of wheat and warned that if not, the crisis would worsen.

Pakistan, which was self-sufficient in wheat for many years, has imported several million tonnes in the last two years and is expected to import 3 million tonnes in the 2022-23 marketing year, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.

Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is experiencing its worst-ever flour crisis, with a bag of 20-kilogram flour selling for Rs 3100 after the government failed to control the price of the stable.