The current flour crisis has been brewing for several months. Concerns have been raised since the previous domestic wheat harvest fell far short of expectations as well as the country’s consumption needs. The devastating summer floods exacerbated the situation by severely damaging wheat stocks in flood-affected areas.
Balochistan’s food minister issued an emergency call for immediate assistance on Saturday, saying the province only had enough wheat to last a few days. In terms of the general public, the situation in the other provinces is not significantly different. The death of a man in a stampede that broke out among a large crowd of poor people gathered to buy subsidised flour in Sindh’s Mirpurkhas district foreshadows the shape of things to come.
According to Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh do not allow wheat and flour to cross their borders. Flour millers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also complained about a lack of wheat supplies from Punjab, which produces more than 70% of the country’s wheat. The federal government blames the provinces, particularly Punjab, for the crisis.
Mr. Tariq Bashir Cheema, Minister of National Food Security and Research, claimed last week that there was no shortage of wheat because all provinces had sufficient stocks but were not releasing the grain (to the flour mills). Punjab has since increased the wheat quota of its flour mills from its stocks to alleviate the province’s shortages. The increased supply of subsidised wheat to mills should help alleviate Punjab’s flour shortages.
The problem is that the other provinces do not have enough stocks to last until the next harvest. As a result, low and middle income consumers’ face a double whammy, as shortages cause daily price increases in most parts of the country. The market price of flour is nearly double the official, subsidised price because flour mills buy wheat on the open market at much higher prices than the government price.
Many mills are not operating at full grinding capacity, which adds to the shortages and drives up flour prices. Since June, food inflation has averaged around 31%, making it difficult to believe that people aren’t looking for subsidised flour to feed their families.
It is abhorrent to see the federal government and provinces trade accusations at a time when most middle-class households are struggling to make ends meet. The inability of the federal and provincial governments to provide relief to the people affected by inflation speaks volumes about their competence.
While the federal government should be held accountable for failing to predict the crisis, provinces should be held accountable for failing to take timely administrative actions to control profit-rigging within their jurisdictions.
