Ghani: Afghanistan not facing food shortages

KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday sought to assure his people that there are no food shortages, after the closure of the border by Pakistan caused a sudden rise in commodity prices.

Panicked locals in major cities, including Kabul, on Monday rushed to bazaars to stock up on food amid fears of shortages and having to stay at home.
Since Sunday, a 49 kg bag of flour has jumped from 1,750 afghanis ($23) to 2,500 in some parts of Kabul, while other essential goods have also spiked.
Some shops quickly ran out of flour, the staple food in Afghanistan, which relies on imports of almost all goods from neighboring countries.
Police intervened and arrested some shopkeepers, accusing them of unnecessarily increasing prices, and some of hoarding goods.
“With the grace of God … our country isn’t facing any type of essential food shortages. Please don’t listen to rumors,” Ghani said in a live televised address to the people from his palace.
“For the sake of establishing stability in the market, I’m ordering distribution of 24,000 tons of wheat from government reserves for the vulnerable people of the country.”
 He said in the coming two weeks, 75,000 tons of wheat will be imported from India.

There have been no reported deaths among Afghans from coronavirus in the country, but the Ministry of Refugees Repatriation says 10 refugees living in Iran have died from the disease.
So far, there have been only 22 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Afghanistan, spread by Afghan migrants who have returned over the past month from Iran, according to officials.
Afghanistan has taken various steps to contain the spread of the virus, including banning handshaking, hugging, celebrating the traditional new year festival, weddings in hotels and sports events. Schools and universities are to be closed for a month in less than two weeks’ time.