Russia May Supply Wheat to Pakistan, Says Minister, as Food Crisis Deepens Because Of Floods

More than 30 million people have been displaced across Pakistan because of devastating floods triggered by torrential rains since August. The floods ravaged the farm sector in Sindh, eastern Punjab and Balochistan, popularly known as the food bowl of Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the cash-strapped country faces food shortages.

Russia has offered to supply wheat to Pakistan, the country's defense minister Khawaja Asif claimed on Saturday while briefing about the talks held between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Vladimir Putin.

The minister said that Sharif had been invited by President Putin to visit Moscow. However, he did not reveal when the visit would take place.

“Russia has said that it can provide us with wheat because in the coming days we may have shortages,” Asif said.

The minister’s statements come a day after the Sharif and Putin held their first talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan.

“They have said that they can give us gas. Russia said they have gas pipelines in Central Asian countries and the pipelines could be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan. These talks have taken place,” the minister confirmed.

Pakistan is facing a food and fuel shortage, triggered by the foreign exchange crisis and exacerbated by catastrophic floods.

The floods damaged crops in Sindh, eastern Punjab and Balochistan provinces, putting the nation's food security under threat.

Wheat is a staple food of Pakistan, as it is used to make roti and naan - flat unleavened bread. Pakistan's annual wheat consumption is estimated to be approximately 31 metric tons.

A preliminary estimate carried out by the Pakistan government suggests economic losses from the floods amount to around $30Bln.