Flour mills cartelisation case to be sent to CCP

Despite a ban, millers continue to increase flour prices

ISLAMABAD: As the price of wheat flour continues to rise, the government has decided to forward a case against cartelisation by flour millers to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP).

Following the pressure of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), the government had imposed a ban on the export of wheat and flour in July to tackle the issue of demand and supply.

Despite the ban, the millers continued to increase the price.

The federal government has constituted a committee comprising provincial governments and relevant stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the CCP to check cartelisation, undue profiteering, and monopolistic practices in order to control price hike in the country.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) in its meeting on September 6 discussed the price hike of essential food items including wheat/atta in detail and constituted the committee.

The sources said Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid had also taken up the matter in a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) last month and pointed out that the price of flour was high in the Rawalpindi region.

Rashid said the flour mills had reduced the size of the atta bag from 20 to 15 kg which was not justified. He also expressed concern over the stocks of wheat.

The fact came to the fore that a huge quantity of wheat had been wasted due to bad storage conditions in the warehouse. Rashid said the actual stock position in the country should be analyzed.

The minister said as consumption of wheat flour increased from November onwards, there was a need for vigilance about supplies during the period. Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar observed that the price of roti/naan was higher in Punjab despite the reduction in gas rates for tandoors.

Azhar sought details of the agreement between Punjab government and Tandoor Owners’ Association regarding fixation of price for roti/naan.

Ministry for National Food Security and Research said in pursuance of the decision of the ECC taken on July 17, 2019 a ban on the export of wheat and wheat flour was notified.

The Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) and provincial food departments on September 5, 2019 reported wheat stocks at the level of 7.27 million tons as compared to 10.6 million tons for the corresponding period last year.

On September 4, the International Grains Council (IGC) London had reported the price of Soft Red Winter Wheat at US$203 per ton, which is equal to Rs31,719 per ton as compared to the export parity price of Rs36,420 per ton in the country.

On August 29, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported the local price of wheat and wheat flour at the level of Rs364.20 and Rs429.30 per 10kg respectively.

Department of Plant Protection (DPP) had reported that around 17,650 tons of wheat products had been exported through the sea and land route from August 1, 2018 to August 30, 2019.