Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA Pakistan wheat prices are increasing, especially in the Punjab, which has caused the Pakistan Flour Mills Association to suggest that the government should release some “official” stocks to help control prices. Wheat supplies in the Punjab region are less than half normal levels but the Punjab Food Department (PFD) says that there is no wheat shortage problem. The PFD says that it is buying from other areas in Pakistan that is moving Punjab prices higher. Much of the problem, it seems, is the locally set “government release price” which causes wheat to move from lower priced to higher priced regions which can create local shortages. Pakistan’s gov...
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