The World Bank has warned that prices continue to rise and are expected to remain high in Pakistan.
The Bank in its latest, “Food Security Update”, noted that in April 2023, year-on-year consumer price inflation for food prices was highest in Pakistan in South Asia with 48.1 percent, 4.2 percent in India, 8.8 percent in Bangladesh, 6.9 percent in Nepal and 27.1 percent in Sri Lanka.
The Bank stated that there is no uniform government wheat support price this year, with the federal and Punjab provincial governments having increased the wheat support price for the 2023/24 crop to Rs. 3,900 per 40 kilograms ($346 per metric ton), while Sindh government set the price at Rs. 4,000 per 40 kilograms ($354 per metric tons).
Free wheat flour was distributed during Ramadan to 185,000 families in the federal capital and to households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (10.7 million households) and Punjab (15.8 million households). In Sindh province, low-income families were facilitated to purchase a 30kg bag of wheat flour at the subsidized rate of Rs 65 per kg, it added.
With the exception of Pakistan (flooding), rice yields in Asia have been generally at or above year-ago levels, but if shortages of fertilizer components persist into the new crop year, yields could be affected, the Bank added.
The Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria are of very high concern. All these hotspots have many people in IPC/CH Phase 4, coupled with worsening drivers that are expected to intensify life‑threatening conditions in the coming months.
Guatemala, Honduras, and Malawi remain of high concern, with acute food insecurity likely to deteriorate further during the outlook period.
