Runaway inflation: Naan prices ready to take flight as flour rates rise

Bread makers warn of strike if govt fails to control flour rates

RAWALPINDI: As people brace to pay Rs70 per kilogramme for the flour to make their flat bread, the naan makers have warned of going on strike if government does not bring down the rates.

Naanbai Association has decided to observe a shutter-down strike against the arbitrary hike in flour prices by the mill owners. The millers have jacked up the prices twice in a month on pretext of shortage of grain and hike in electricity charges.

The association head has further demanded of the government to increase naan prices by Rs3 if the flour prices could not be brought down. The current price of one naan is Rs12.

The Naanbai Association President Muhammad Shafiq Qureshi said that prime minister, chief minister, food department and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf central leader Jehangir Tareen should ensure that the flour prices are reduced. However, he complained, the flour dealers increase prices every other day and no government agency stops them.

He said that the wholesale dealers have increased the price of 80 kilogramme fine flour bag by Rs800 and regular flour by Rs500. “Even the grocery stores have increased per kilogramme flour price by Rs6,” he asserted.

Following the price hike, an 80kg flour sack was selling for Rs5,200 and the 80kg sack for regular sack was selling for Rs4,500. At wholesale price fine flour was tagged at Rs65 but at retail rate, one kilo flour now costs between Rs70 to Rs80 depending upon the locality.

The price tag of staple food has now become Rs800 for 18kg bag at the Utility Stores Corporation outlets, Rs830 at grocery stores and Rs850 in rural areas.

With uptick in flour rates, the roti prices have also inflated. Naan now costs Rs12 instead of Rs10, while the whole-grain bread commonly known as pateer roti costs Rs10 instead of Rs8. The naanbai association has demanded to further increase the naan rate to Rs15.

Qureshi claimed that the association approached the Rawalpindi Food Controller on the matter who also endorsed that prices of flour bags have jacked up. He said that the mill owners were not ready in reducing flour rates even though the government increased their wheat quota.

Shafiq said that the association would start a streak of protests in the garrison city from next week.

 

Grocers irked being charged

Meanwhile, the representatives of retailers and wholesalers said the district administration officials were penalising them for selling groceries at higher prices, whereas they were getting commodities at increased rates from mills and bulk dealers.

Markazi Anjuman Tajiran, Karyana Merchants and other traders’ bodies across the city have condemned the levy of fines worth up to Rs10,000 by district administration against selling flour on hiked prices.

They have demanded to stop the practice on an immediate basis or else they would resort to a complete shutter down strike in Rawalpindi.

The Markazi Anjuman Tajiran President Sahrjeel Mir, Karyana Merchant Association Head Saleem Pervaiz Butt made this announcement while addressing a gathering of traders and merchants in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Mir said that a retailer keeps a profit margin of up to Rs5 per kg on every grocery item. If they get a commodity on higher rate how can they sell it below the purchase price, he said. However, he added that the administration was imposing fines of Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 on the retailers of minimum Rs5,000 from which they were completely irked.

The official said that they have decided to launch protests against the practice.

We will not keep our protest limited to Rawalpindi, Mir added and expressed that they would take the related associations of other cities in confidence too and extend the demonstrations across the country to protest collectively against injustice.