If by "caused problems" you mean "killed millions by starvation", then yes. They had a habit of killing local technocrats who didn't report strong numbers, tho

If by "caused problems" you mean "killed millions by starvation", then yes. They had a habit of killing local technocrats who didn't report strong numbers, though, so I can understand why someone would say their starving town had a grain surplus. And of course the guy doing the killing is under a similar threat, all the way to the top.