ISLAMABAD; Sept 25: Wheat flour is like a matter of life and death for Pakistanis whose vast majority is facing serious food shortage. Pakistanis are facing serious food crisis and it’s coupled with killing inflation which rose to unbearable level of 40 %. The killing inflation and growing food shortage has pushed every second Pakistani into an unending financial crisis.
In the given environment when food shortage is turning into a serious problem for millions of Pakistanis who are unable to have two meals a day, the policy-makers of this country are not moving to implement mandatory SROs of Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to stop wastage of wheat flour (atta) worth of billions of the rupee .
PSQCA issued mandatory SROs some in 2017 directing the provinces to ensure the use of food graded packaging for handling of wheat flour (atta). The implementation of PSQCA mandatory SROs could save wheat flour of worth billions of rupee annually which is being wasted due to the use of low quality non- food grain packaging, but the bureaucracy created every possible hurdle in implementation of PSQCA mandatory SROs meant for ensuring food grade packaging for wheat flour (atta).
According to the official data, Pakistan is wasting wheat flour (atta) of worth Rs 143 billion annually. The wheat flour (atta) is being packed in poor quality non-good grade sacks and at least 50 gram atta goes waste during its loading and off-loading in the lorries.
Pakistan polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturers Association chairman, Iskander M. Khan, is single handedly blowing the whistle and knocking at every door to make the policy-makers feel that no one was the beneficiary of waste of wheat flour of billions of rupee due to the use of unhealthy non-food graded packaging and the simple implementation of PSQCA mandatory SROs can save the loss wheat flour of billions of rupee. Iskander M. Khan said “ I did every possible effort to make the concerned authorities that Pakistan is losing billions of rupee and their just one action of implementing PSQCA could save this public money to the tune of hundreds of billions of rupee that otherwise can be used to provide ration to the needy”. He deplores that even after struggling to get the national duty for years it seems to him as the bureaucracy of this country was least bothered to ensure the use of food grade package to stop pilferage of wheat flour (atta) of worth billions of rupee.
