LAHORE: President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik Thursday expressing grave concern over severe looming food crisis in Sri Lanka called upon international community to rescue the country immediately on humanitarian grounds saving the people from starvation leading to unbridled incessant dying. Talking to a delegation of traders led by Momin Ali Malik,he said food inflation is already at more than 90% year on year in last month and about 6.7 million Sri Lankans out of a population of 22 million don’t have access to enough food as per WHO parameters.He feared worse to come if they are not attended to promptly by global donors for meeting their essential food needs for survival. He said other painful and bleak picture which surfaced in Sri Lanka is stunted rice crop that also fuelled the impending threat of food crisis. ONLINE
He said non availability of fertilisers is attributed major cause of extremely poor production of paddy that badly hit rice growing belts for the consecutive second season and some of crops are not worth harvesting which compounded their economic miseries.
He said rice is staple food of the country’s 22 million people and its biggest crop.Painting grim picture,the octogenarian trade leader of South Asia said in prevailing sorry state of affairs,farmers can’t sow the next crop as urea,fertilisers and fuel is not easily available and all inputs are expensive.He said the lack of hard currency at a time of spiralling prices sparked by Russian-Ukraine conflict also squeezed imports of essentials including fuel,cooking gas,medicines and food.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said it’s now high time for all international players come in action and save the country from food catastrophe. He urged especially super powers to fully support the people of Sri Lanka in this regard who are looking towards help in need,he concluded.
Leader of the delegation Momin Ali Malik who is progressive rice farmer as well announced to mobilise resources to send a relief consignment to Sri Lanka through SAARC Chamber platform.Iftikhar Ali Malik appreciated his spirit and on the hand also appealed pak business community to join hands with Momin Ali Malik in this noble cause.
