No immediate food security challenge despite floods: officials

ISLAMABAD (APP): Pakistan is not facing any acute shortage of its basic staple food wheat, an official statement said.

Officials at a meeting convened by the National Flood Response Coordination Center (NFRCC) here with a focus on food security said that this year the stocks of wheat and other food items are more than in previous years despite the devastating floods in Pakistan, the agency said in the statement.

The NFRCC was also told that procurement plans are in place to ensure meeting the annual national demand of 30.5 million tons of wheat.

The centre asked all stakeholders to ensure the availability of other critical food items, particularly infant food including dry milk and dietary supplements for flood-affected women, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan.

According to the media, recent floods have damaged an estimated 3.36 million hectares of crops in Pakistan, including over 1.37 million hectares in Sindh alone.