Tag: Food

MILAN - The UN's food price index hit a record in January and recent catastrophic weather around the globe could put more pressure on the cost of food, an issue that has already helped spark protests across the Middle East.
Up for the seventh month in a row, the closely watched Food and Agriculture Oganisation Food Price Index on Thursday touched its highest since records began in 1990, and topped the peak of 224.1 in June 2008, during the food crisis of 2007/08.
"The new

ISLAMABAD - Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal on Thursday said the country's food production and supply chain was intact and the availability of ample food stocks meant that there were no chances of food insecurity in the country in the near future.
Addressing a press conference, the minister called "baseless" the news report that warned of food insecurity in the near future, saying the country was self sufficient in all staple foods. He said the production

ISLAMABAD - The government on Tuesday termed as baseless news reports that warned food insecurity scenario in future, saying that there sufficient stocks of grains including wheat and rice in the country. A spokesman for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said Pakistan has sufficient stocks of grains including wheat and rice and speculations regarding Food Insecurity in Pakistan are completely baseless.
During last fiscal year 2009-10 Pakistan had a wheat production of 23.3

LAHORE - An accountability court on Friday summoned former minister for food Iqbal Tikka with his brother Azam Tikka, son-in-law Hammad Tikka and Adil Saleem Tikka, newly nominated co-accused in a reference filed against Sheikh Muhammad Ayub the owner of renowned Qasr-e-Zauk for February 2.
National Accountability Bureau had nominated Iqbal Tikka, Azam Tikka, Hammad Tikka and Adil Saleem Tikka by following the direction of Supreme Court during the hearing of a suo motu notice

DAVOS - Officials meeting at the World Economic Forum expressed concern on Thursday about soaring food prices stoking social unrest, but corporate figures rejected calls for curbs on speculation. "Higher food prices and volatility are one of the biggest threats to the global economic recovery and social stability," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director at the World Bank, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting in the Swiss resort.
US wheat futures rose to a new 29-month

NEW DELHI - Asia, facing some of the highest food inflation in the world, may support the broad thrust of France's push for G20 to tame volatile commodity prices but it is also seen as only part of the solution to ensuring the world can afford to eat.
South Korea said it supported the plan but an Australian farming body said the proposal put forward on Monday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy was avoiding the "elephant in the room" - the need to reduce trade barriers. "To

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved establishment of the Punjab Food Authority. He was chairing a meeting to review proposals regarding the authority.
The CM said that the decision to establish the Punjab Food Authority has been taken, as provision of unadulterated and quality essential items to people is of vital importance. He said that the authority would be completely autonomous on pattern of the Punjab Health Commission.
Shahbaz directed

DHAKA - Bangladesh's food import bill is likely to rise 15 percent and reach 75 billion taka ($1.0 billion) in the current financial year as the government buys more grain to secure supplies amid soaring prices in global markets.
The original allocation of funds in the national budget for food imports in the financial year 2010-11 was 65 billion taka. "But we need an additional 10 billion taka to import increased volume of grains," Food Director General Ahmed Hossain Khan told

KARACHI - English Biscuit Manufacturers (EBM) and United Registrar of Systems (URS) will host the ninth International Safe Food Conference 2011 on January 18, 2011 at the Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi.
This was disclosed by EBM Deputy Managing Director Saadia Naveed, while addressing a pre-event news conference held here the other day. She said that EBM strongly believes in mass awareness of food safety issues, which are essential to generate and mobilise the support of key

KARACHI - Sindh Food Minister Nadir Magsi has urged the Federal government to either discontinue the supply of wheat flour (Atta) from Punjab to Sindh, province or allow the Sindh government to export its wheat abroad. The Sindh government has around 900,000 metric tones wheat in its warehouses, Magsi said at the Sindh Assembly (SA) session on Thursday, arguing that this needed to be sold at the earliest for fear of the food supplies frittering away "Sindh is unable to sell its wheat

SINGAPORE - Record high food prices are moving to the top of the agenda for many Asian policymakers as the prospect of higher inflation in 2011 poses a major threat to the region's strong revival from the global financial crisis. Food inflation in many Asian countries, including China and India, is already in double digits, raising fears that the price pressures could spread more broadly to other sectors and pose a threat to both economic and social stability as millions of Asians

ISLAMABAD - An official source has disclosed that the government is left with a meager 24,000 tonnes of urea, while local urea manufacturers are left with zero stocks as a result of the 45 days feedstock gas curtailment. In addition, urea imports from Saudi Arabia are also in doldrums.
This alarming situation came from the Fertiliser Price Review Committee (FPRC) on Tuesday and has severely threatened the country's food security. Restoration of gas to the fertilser industry is

ISLAMABAD - Despite the damage done to agriculture production in the summer floods, the export of various food products registered an increase of 17.92 percent during last five months of the current fiscal year.
The export of rice increased by 11.86 percent during the period from July to November 2010 compared to the same period of 2009. About 1.3 million metric tonnes of the rice was exported from the country valued at $779.049 million. According to the data collected by the

LAHORE - DCO Lahore Ahad Khan has directed to check the premises of 38 marriage halls, whereas food samples of 65 different restaurants and food companies have been sent to laboratories for inspection by District Food Inspector Dr Masood Ashraf.
Challans for substandard food items will be presented in courts for hearing, while 13 premises have been issued corrective measure notifications.

LAHORE: Protests against Sui gas load shedding were witnessed in various parts of the city including Samanabad and Gawalmandi on Friday. Public expressed anger by chanting slogans against the authorities and protested that they had to go to the offices without having breakfast. Gawalmandi residents, in a protest against unscheduled gas load shedding, expressed grief over the 'inexcusable' blockage of gas and demanded swift restoration. They blocked the Nisbat road for an hour, burnt

ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Ministry sent a summary to the prime minister for the removal of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Zafar Altaf, a PARC source told Pakistan Today on Saturday.
The tenure of Dr Zafar Altaf had expired on August 11, this year but he continued holding office without obtaining extension in his service. Taking notice of the issue, National Assembly Standing Committee on Food and Agriculture had asked the ministry to take up

LAHORE: Punjab government has established an information cell in the Directorate of Food, Lahore to facilitate and expedite wheat exports.
Punjab Secretary Food Irfan Elani said wheat exporters can get all necessary information from this cell regarding the availability of wheat in various districts of the province.
The Provincial Secretary said that a comprehensive strategy had been chalked-out for the construction of additional storage facilities for wheat in Lahore.