PESHAWAR: Concerns over a wheat shortage have emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with government warehouses in the province holding enough stock to meet requirements for only around two weeks.
According to documents from the Food Department, government warehouses currently have 189,000 metric tonnes of wheat in stock, while the province requires approximately 14,900 metric tonnes per day. At the current rate of consumption, the available stock is sufficient for only about two weeks.
The documents show that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires around 5.436 million metric tonnes of wheat annually, while the province’s own production stands at only 1.472 million metric tonnes. This leaves an annual shortfall of approximately 3.964 million metric tonnes. The province has a total population of around 43.843 million.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Department has sounded the alarm over the potential wheat crisis. However, the supply of an additional 225,000 metric tonnes of wheat from PASSCO is currently in the pipeline, which could provide some relief to the province’s stocks.
