A threat to food security | Political Economy

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The food safety and export security arrangements are under siege. In March 2025, the National Food Security and Research Ministry and the National Agri-Trade and Food Security Authority silently banned the fraud of Matthew Bromide (MEBR) on Pakistani ports.

This smoke helps to avoid insects, such as insects, nausea, cookies and mournful clothing, and helps to avoid the losses caused by mournful clothing in imported or exported wood in the country. On the pretext of compliance with environmental protection, officials have ordered that no mebr should be found in the mebr when it comes to the upcoming shipment of pulses, cotton, soybeans and buttons nuts.

At the same time, a separate decision has stopped MEBR fraud in rice exports. Twin operations have its own wounds to protect Pakistan’s food. The MERBR is an important singer, which is allowed internationally, and no viable alternative is available on our ports. This quick change of policy will allow invasive insects, baseless exports and eventually agricultural productivity and public health.

Authorities claim that the Montreal is being aligned with the protocol, which usually restricts the use of MeBR. However, it “allows a clear discount for its own use for pre -shipments and pre -shipments, where there is no viable alternative.” Article 2 of Protocol says that MEBR should be allowed to treat smoke on the commodities traded to eliminate pests before shipment. In straight terms, the protocol requires that when no alternative works, MEBR should be used for quantity needs. By allowing the use of MEBR, the government is ignoring scientific reality and is confused with Pakistan’s trade partners.

What about alternatives? The ministry has indicated that Pakistan will be transformed into other treatments such as phosphon, heat or irradiation. But these reforms are widespread on a scale. The rules of our own fatasthestry show the difference. A document from the IPPC notes that phosphine foamions should run 96 hours in a fixed concentration with MEBR just 48 hours. In practice, this means that the container will be tied for four days instead of two. Phosphine is also struggling against many tropical insects, as confirmed by recent European intervention.

Heat treatment requires expensive equipment (fuel for insulated chamber and long heating systems) and these are slow and uneven for bulk cargo. The rays in Pakistan’s commercial infrastructure are prohibited and nearly nearly expensive. (Lahore has only one modern fruit radial facility.) In two words, today, any port in Pakistan does not have the capacity to heat or reduce tens of thousands of tonnes of imports every year. Even for many years (and huge investment) to countries like Australia and the United States, the mebr alternatives advanced.

The risks of the MEBR ban are urgent and serious. Without the fraud of the MEBR on the ports, the foreign pests will slip and be set up here, threatening crops and storage. Consider our rice exports. Grain Sticks Borner Khapra Beetle has twice banned Pakistani rice: Mexico banned imports in 2013 after searching for Khapra, and Russia banned all grains after stopping Kharapra in the consignment of scratches in 2019. The ban has just ended.

Pakistan has lost $ 1 billion by an estimated rice response by trade partners. This shows how expensive pest attacks can be expensive, even with MeBR. Without it, the risk increases. European authorities have already reported diseases in the rice shipment despite treatment, which suggests that insects like red flour beetles are avoiding common fraud. Malaysia and the European Union use aluminum phosphide and heat treatment as they have invested in compliance. There is no Pakistan. If imported grains and stored equipment are reached unnacted, Ghana fly, beetroot, particles and fungi can spread to our warehouses and fields.

There is also a risk of export shock. In the name of competition, it has been argued that bouncing MEBR fraud “can reduce export price. But eliminating quantities at the port can actually increase costs. Exporters have already warned that non -fumaged cargo will be removed. Pakistan cannot replace me only MEBR, whose goods have been denied at the border. In 2019, the defective department of plant protection now demanded MEBR fraud over yellow corn exports – then stopped it, the exporters said that the bumper is almost “barrier to export”. Such an extraordinary policy administration shows disaster for traders.

The latest MEBR restriction is the latest example of a dangerous pattern in policymaking. Exporters have faced other crises after: Our Basmati and Super Kharif Rice repeatedly denied the European Union for pesticides. And the ongoing controversy over the import of GM soybean food poultry feed. In 2020, the importers warned that the DPP sanctions on MEBR have caused severe shortage in the house. Its combination is a loss of confidence: Can we trust the authorities to manage the quantity without reducing food supply?

Compare this to South Asian allies. Bangladesh and Nepal have maintained the Quran governments using MeBR. No country has thrown an unprecedented MERB overnight. Even Afghanistan has insisted on it. If Pakistan stops the MERBR, it will become a regional outlet. We will be the only country to punish our farmers and businessmen.

The policy flip should be overturned immediately. The Ministry and NAFSA should lose ban on MEBRs at ports and restore access to MEBR for legitimate quarantine and pre -shipment foam allowed under international law. Real environmental concerns about pesticides should be resolved only by targeting unstable non -opium use. The decision should be abolished quickly to prevent MEBR fraud in rice exports. If there is a problem with pesticides, it should be determined by a better inspection.

We also have to restore our own institutions. Making such decisions requires a reliable, science -based technical committee. The Quranic Protocol should be linked to global standards and Pakistan has signed with these agreements (IPPC/Codex Rules), as experts have long emphasized. Lawmakers and the media should investigate how the ban on MEBR was approved on a brief notice without a stakeholder input. Reforms should be transparent and permanent, not knee shocks that cause crises.

Author is a communications strategy that has extensive experience in the development sector