PM says full monitoring of supply, demand of food be carried out to ensure national food requirements are met
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on Sunday to review Pakistan’s domestic food situation and the export of surplus commodities as Gulf War disrupts supply PHOTO: PMO
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday directed the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) to take the necessary measures to export food items to Gulf countries via maritime routes as the Iran war disrupts food supply in the region, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement said that PM Shehbaz chaired a meeting to review Pakistan’s domestic food situation and the export of surplus commodities in light of changing regional dynamics due to the US-Israel war on Iran.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Rana Tanveer Hussain, and Ahad Khan Cheema, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, senior officials, provincial chief secretaries, and representatives of private-sector associations.
The prime minister directed that “full monitoring of the supply and demand of food items be carried out to ensure national food requirements are met.” Officials briefed the meeting that Pakistan has “abundant reserves of food items and there is no shortage of any essential commodity.”
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PM Shehbaz highlighted that disruptions in global supply chains had “increased Pakistan’s export capacity in the region,” and instructed that the supply of food items to Gulf countries and their food security be ensured.
He also called for a comprehensive plan “to export surplus food items to Gulf countries without affecting Pakistan’s domestic food requirements” and emphasised that “high standards must be maintained” in these exports, the statement added.
A committee will be formed to review the situation on a daily basis, while ambassadors and trade officers posted in Gulf countries have been instructed to remain proactive.
The briefing, the statement said, included details of Pakistan’s extensive export potential across its agricultural sector, including crops, meat, poultry, dairy, and seafood.
