Pak PM vows to curb flour price at govt's own expense amid wheat shortage

As the wheat production is estimated to fall short by almost three million tonnes this year, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he will reduce the flour price even if he has to sell clothes.

While addressing a public gathering of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in Bisham tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Shangla district, Sharif vowed to reduce flour prices in the province.

Sharif announced that he knew well how to reduce flour prices in the province. He directed the provincial government to make the reduction in the flour prices at its own expense, ARY News reported.

According to the Dawn newspaper, the country's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Saturday said that wheat production is projected to be 26.173 million tonnes against a target of 28.89 million tonnes while the estimated consumption would be around 30.79m tonnes.

The reason for this shortage is reduced area under wheat cultivation, shortage of water and fertilizer, and delay in the announcement of support price. Among other issues are oil price hikes and an earlier-than-usual heatwave.

These reasons had led to a shortfall of two per cent in production. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has also posed a severe shortage of wheat in Pakistan.

Sharif further criticised Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and said that the certificates of traitors and loyalists are being distributed instead of working on a plan to provide fundamental rights to the citizens, the Pakistani media reported.

He continued by saying that the PTI government had acquired the highest loans in history but it did not invest anything in development and public welfare projects, ARY News reported.

The national economy was destroyed for not taking timely decisions to purchase oil and gas, he added.