Islamabad, May 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Sunday said the current heatwave is destroying important crops which is further aggravating the problem of food security in the country. Scarcity of water and urea coupled with delay in announcement of support price for wheat has damaged the crop and now Pakistan will have to import costly wheat for which it has no money, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that fake pesticides and substandard seeds have also played their role in ruining the wheat crop and a serious wheat crisis is taking root in the country. Despite repeated indications and warnings from various sectors for several months, the government avoided importing cheap wheat from India and now the option is lost as India has banned the export of wheat.
The development has deprived Pakistan of the option of importing cheap wheat and now it will have to import expensive wheat which will increase its price in the market. The business leader noted that other wheat exporting countries are also curbing exports but some elements want to export wheat from Pakistan which would be suicidal to allow.
He said that the whole government machinery is failing to stop the smuggling of wheat which is astonishing. Hoarders earned billions of rupees from the fertilizer crisis but no action was taken against them which has encouraged them to play with the system for profits. According to a recent UN report, 40 percent of the world’s agricultural area is in decline, which threatens the future of half the world’s population and requires trillions of dollars to restore.
According to the report, 23 countries including Pakistan are suffering from drought including Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, USA and Zambia.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt
Consul General Ghana
Former President ICCI
Former Patron ICST
Tel: +92-333-5132199, +92-51-2822571