Wheat Crisis

As countless sacks of wheat spoil or disappear from warehouses, the price of flour will rise even further

SUKKUR: The news of millions of sacks of wheat spoiling in government warehouses in Sindh province has come to light, as has the disappearance of government wheat worth more than Rs 70 million from government warehouses in Naushahro Feroze district.

Looking at the news, it is clear that the province is experiencing another wheat crisis. The flour, which was selling for Rs 94 to 95 per kg until recently, is now selling for between Rs 107 and 108. This unexpected price increase has sparked public concern, with economists predicting that the price of flour in Sindh will rise even further. There was plenty of wheat in the province prior to the recent rains and floods, with millions of sacks stored in government warehouses. However, the disaster caused a wheat shortage in Sindh.

The news of the disappearance of wheat from the official government warehouses has also come to light in the past, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Sukkur has been working hard to expose corruption in the provincial food department. Furthermore, Rs 16 billion was recovered from corrupt officials who crushed the government’s wheat, while the cases of 24 corrupt officials were being heard in the NAB Court, with many officers facing punishment, according to the department.

Wheat shortages in government warehouses have become commonplace. Thousands of sacks of wheat have frequently gone missing from government warehouses, as have thousands of sacks sent from one city to another. This series of wheat disappearances has been going on for years.

This year, Nazakat Hasbani, the former District Food Controller (DFC) of Sindh’s Naushahro Feroze District, sent a report to senior Food Department officials, claiming that approximately Rs 70 million worth of wheat was stolen from government warehouses in Noorpur, Moro, Kandiaro, Padidan, Darbelo, and Naushahro Feroze city.

The Sindh government, acting on the report of the former DFC Hisbani and Sindh Food Minister Mukesh Chawla, launched an investigation into the missing wheat from the respective godowns, in which the former DFC, officers of the Sindh Food Department, and warehouse in-charges of the Naushahro Feroze district are also being probed, but the investigation is yet to be completed.

When Bol News contacted the current district food controller, Naushahro Feroze Hakim Ali Mehr, he refused to comment on the disappearance of government wheat worth tens of millions of rupees, claiming that the problem had existed before he took over. He added that the Sindh government and senior officials of the food department are aware of the disappearance of wheat and that details about the inquiry can only be provided by senior officials of the department.

A big case of corruption has been exposed at the instigation of an officer in Naushahro Feroze district. Meanwhile, no case of corruption in government wheat has emerged from Kashmore district, Nawab Shah district, Ghotki district, Khairpur district, Larkana district, or Jacobabad district so far. However, reports of thousands of sacks of government wheat spoiling in these districts have surfaced as a result of the carelessness of concerned food department officials.

There is an official wheat warehouse of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) of the federal government at Rasoolabad in Khairpur district, where thousands of sacks of wheat are stored. Some time ago, with no protection for the government wheat kept in the open warehouse, thousands of sacks of wheat were damaged during the recent rains.

When reports surfaced of wheat sacks becoming wet in PASSCO’s warehouse, Federal Minister for Water Resources Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah contacted the top officials of the government-owned entity and issued instructions to preserve the wheat, but the administration did not take any measures, and as a result, thousands of sacks of wheat got damaged and rotted in the rainwater.

Similarly, thousands of sacks of wheat have been damaged in Kashmore, Larkana, Nawab Shah, and Ghotki districts, resulting in a clear shortage of wheat in Sindh and possibly the reason why flour prices in Sindh have risen rapidly.

Senior Provincial Minister of Sindh, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, told Bol News that the Sindh government is looking into the matter and that an investigation is underway to determine how the wheat was damaged in the government godowns during the rain. He added that the fact that concerned officers did not take measures to preserve wheat is also being investigated.

He stated that the Sindh government is examining why the in-charges of the government warehouses in the food department did not take effective measures to preserve the wheat during the rains, despite the fact that the province received an unusually large amount of rain this year. He insisted that wheat be stored in government godowns wherever possible and that this was the responsibility of the concerned officers of the Food Department.

He further stated that Provincial Food Minister Mukesh Chawla is also conducting an inquiry and that any employees found to be incompetent in this matter will face full disciplinary action.

“On the other hand, the Sindh government will not allow a wheat or flour crisis to occur in the province, and if some profiteers try to raise flour prices unjustifiably on the occasion, legal action will be taken against them as well,” he maintained.

According to Nasir Hussain Shah, the Sindh government has tried to provide relief to the people following the rain and flood, and efforts are being made to provide relief in every sector.

“Nobody has the ability to cause a flour or wheat crisis in Sindh. The Sindh government is keeping a close eye on these developments, and we will take firm action against those who cause problems for the people,” he concluded.