Murad calls for banning export of food related items

Sher Afzal

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has called for imposing ban on export of food items such as wheat, rice and pulses under food security plan.

This he said on Monday while participating in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Coordination committee through video link, said a statement issued by Sindh CM’s House here on Monday.

He said that ban should be imposed on export of the food related items such as wheat, rice and pulses. “The wheat being harvested these days might be surplus but local requirement of the current year and of the next crop year must be addressed before taking any decision,” he said and added what would happen in the next crop year could not be guessed now, therefore we must start our emergency preparations. 

He said the shortage of food-related items could not be ruled out, if exports were allowed. “In such situation import would be costlier than the benefits of export,” he said and added. “we have to rely on our own resources at this critical time and have to ensure or food security,” he said.

Talking about COVID-19, the chief minister said that the positive cases were on the rise in Sindh. “A patient of virus died within six hours on Monday which is quite dangers,” he said.

He said that keeping in view the critical situation he wanted another lockdown of 14 days.

He said that the Sindh government was meeting the expenditures of the COVID-19 tests from its resources. “We are conducting more than 90 percent test and the about 10 percent are being done by private sector but we are subsidizing them,” he said.