Flour mills closed in Punjab, K-P, Balochistan

Negotiations between PFMA, Punjab secretary fail

LAHORE: Flour mills in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remained closed on Monday, following a strike call given by the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) in protest against what it calls the “high-handedness” of district authorities and the food department.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PFMA Central Chairman Asim Raza said the strike will continue till the end of raids being carried out by district authorities and the food department on flour mills.

He demanded of the authorities concerned to end the raids being carried out on flour mills in Punjab and lift the ban imposed on the open market purchase and interprovincial supply of wheat in Balochistan’s Naseerabad division.

As per orders of the association, flour mills in Punjab have closed the grinding of wheat and flour supply to markets.

Sources in the Food Security department said the flour shortage is not an imminent danger as its demand is currently low because of the month of Ramazan and the coronavirus pandemic. Three to four days of flour is available in markets, they added.

53 districts under locust attack in country

Meanwhile, negotiations between the PFMA and Punjab Food Security Secretary Waqas Ali Mehmood on calling off the strike have failed.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the secretary said: “Flours mills should sell the 20kg bag of flour at Rs805.” However, the mill owners refused the demand for decreasing the flour price.

PFMA Punjab Chairman Abdur Rauf Mukhtar told the newspaper: “At present, the per maund price of wheat in the markets is about Rs1,600. Flour cannot be sold at the price of Rs805.” Mukhtar also demanded of the government to lift the ban imposed on the supply of the wheat in Punjab. The administration should end the “series of raids and harassment,” he added.

According to sources, the Punjab Food Department had set a target of purchasing 4.5 million metric tonnes of wheat but so far only 3.5 million tonnes has been procured.

Thus, the food department is facing a shortfall of one million tonnes in the procurement. The procurement of wheat is to be completed by the first week of June. The procurement season is coming to an end but the food department does not have time to meet the target due to the coming Eidul Fitr holidays.