Wandering wheat shortage

Advisor to Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ajmal Wazir has brushed aside the possibility of wheat flour shortages. He said that 190,000 tonnes of wheat stock is available in the provincial government warehouses and supply of wheat flour from Punjab is smoothly going on. He said that the availed stock is sufficient to cater to requirement of consumers.

Optimism aside, ground reality should be acknowledged by the KP government as pulse of the market is indicative of it. Predicting the recent weather pattern, the harvesting season will be delayed and upon the arrival of harvesting month, there will be high probability of rain, resulting in the fungal damage of the crops. Moreover, in bleak period of coronavirus, import of wheat is not possible because of global lock-down, which may extend to June. The only practical solution will be proper monitoring wheat of flow among the province along with, strict measures against hoarding and smuggling.