Daily Times

There is no shortage of essential food items as wheat, rice, maize, potato and other food items are sufficient in stock to cater for food security, a high-level meeting was told on Thursday. Secretary Food made a briefing on latest update on the flood situation to Planning Minister and Deputy Chairman National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) Ahsan Iqbal, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Akhter Nawaz, and National Coordinator NFRCC Major General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. The secretary presented a detailed update regarding wheat stocks in the country and ensured that no shortage of wheat, rice, maize and sugar is expected in the future as sufficient stocks are already available in the country which remained secured during the recent flooding. He said the reports about shortage are false and baseless. He said that Pakistan’s annual requirement of wheat is 30.5 million tonnes whereas 2 million tonnes are strategic reserves, adding that presently, 7.07 million tonnes, including 2 million tonnes for seeds, are available in the country, which is approximately 153 days of stock. He said that the available stock is sufficient till the time new wheat production will be harvested. Moreover, he added, early procurement of seeds will be ensured for the next season.