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| Afghanistan appeals for food aid | Afghanistan appeals for food aid |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Afghanistan is appealing to the international community to provide extra supplies of wheat to alleviate a shortage, an Afghan minister has said. | Afghanistan is appealing to the international community to provide extra supplies of wheat to alleviate a shortage, an Afghan minister has said. |
| Commerce Minister Mohammad Amin Farhang said the shortage could lead to serious problems during the winter. | Commerce Minister Mohammad Amin Farhang said the shortage could lead to serious problems during the winter. |
| His call came amid rising discontent inside Afghanistan at the spiralling cost of wheat and other basic food. | |
| Afghanistan does not grow enough wheat to feed all its people and is partially dependent on imports. | Afghanistan does not grow enough wheat to feed all its people and is partially dependent on imports. |
| Growing pressure | Growing pressure |
| Mr Farhang made his comment in an interview with German's Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper. | Mr Farhang made his comment in an interview with German's Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper. |
| "The situation is serious," he said. | "The situation is serious," he said. |
| Kabul has come under increasing pressure to take action, amid rising grain prices on the international market. | Kabul has come under increasing pressure to take action, amid rising grain prices on the international market. |
| And the political crisis triggered by the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has led to a reduction in wheat shipments from Pakistan. | And the political crisis triggered by the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has led to a reduction in wheat shipments from Pakistan. |
| Some people also blame shortages on the fact that wheat is being smuggled out of Afghanistan to neighbouring Tajikistan. | Some people also blame shortages on the fact that wheat is being smuggled out of Afghanistan to neighbouring Tajikistan. |
| In some areas, the price of bread has doubled or even quadrupled. | In some areas, the price of bread has doubled or even quadrupled. |
| "Food prices have gone up and no-one can afford to buy all the food they need," said a resident of Lashkar Gar, the capital of the southern Helmand province. | "Food prices have gone up and no-one can afford to buy all the food they need," said a resident of Lashkar Gar, the capital of the southern Helmand province. |
| "A 100kg of flour is about 3,300 Afghanis ($67), and poor people will not be able to afford to pay this at all. The government should do something about it," he added. | "A 100kg of flour is about 3,300 Afghanis ($67), and poor people will not be able to afford to pay this at all. The government should do something about it," he added. |
| Helmand is one of the worst-affected areas - some say partly because local farmers have increasingly switched from growing wheat to the more lucrative opium poppy. | Helmand is one of the worst-affected areas - some say partly because local farmers have increasingly switched from growing wheat to the more lucrative opium poppy. |
| But the insurgency also plays a part. Worsening security limits the amount of aid getting to violence-torn provinces in the south. | But the insurgency also plays a part. Worsening security limits the amount of aid getting to violence-torn provinces in the south. |
| There has been an increasing clamour in the Afghan press with columnists questioning why the government has not stockpiled supplies of grain. | There has been an increasing clamour in the Afghan press with columnists questioning why the government has not stockpiled supplies of grain. |
| This week, Kabul moved to ease concerns, cancelling a tax on imported grain until the end of the Afghan year, which ends in March, and reducing the tax on imported cooking oil. | This week, Kabul moved to ease concerns, cancelling a tax on imported grain until the end of the Afghan year, which ends in March, and reducing the tax on imported cooking oil. |
| But some ministers say the situation remains serious. | But some ministers say the situation remains serious. |