Pakistan: Wheat production is at risk; imports may be necessary

The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, and the President and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain, said on Wednesday that urgent wheat imports may be needed to save the country from a food security crisis. He stressed that along with imports, a government-led operation should be launched against hoarders and profiteers across the country. Without such intervention, the situation will only deteriorate. Mian Zahid Hussain said that farmers in many areas are growing other crops instead of wheat in the absence of a support price, which is decreasing the area under wheat cultivation and affecting production. Addressing the business community, the veteran business leader underscored that wheat production has also been hampered in many areas due to scant rainfall. If immediate steps are not taken to address ...