HYDERABAD: President of Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani said that the crisis of nutrients will create a severe shortage of food not only in Pakistan but globally in the coming years due to the lack of production in major rice and sugar producing countries.
He said the way is being paved for a new global food crisis not only in Pakistan, but globally rice production this year is at the lowest level in the last twenty years. More than three and a half billion people in the world will be affected by the food crisis.
He said that according to the statistics of five United Nations agencies, 8 million children are suffering from severe malnutrition, which is the most deadly type of malnutrition. This means that they have a 12% higher risk of death than a child who receives adequate amounts of food and now due to the global food crisis this figure is expected to increase further.
The President HCSTSI stated that the government of Pakistan seems to have failed to stop the smuggling of goods to Afghanistan and other countries.
According to the BBC report, 100 tons of sugar is transported from Quetta almost every other day and about 700 tons of sugar in a week to Afghanistan through more than 20 illegal routes which is being sold at an expensive price of 100 Pakistani rupees.
Which is not only the reason for increasing the prices of food grains in Pakistan, but it will also intensify the food crisis in Pakistan.
He also said that rice is consumed in Asian countries the most in the world, which is 90 percent of the global production. This time the production of rice has decreased by 90 lac tones which are the highest since 2003-04.
President Chamber demanded from Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister for Food Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema to immediately ban the export of commodities like other countries and to stop smuggling to Afghanistan and other countries.
Actions should be taken as soon as possible to stop the export of commodities as Pakistani people are already under the pressure of inflation and this food crisis will further increase the inflation which will make the life of the poor people very difficult.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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