Centre urges Sindh to announce wheat policy to lower flour price

Food minister says people of Sindh are forced to pay 'exorbitant' price for flour

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minster for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam has called upon the Sindh government to immediately announce the Wheat Release Policy 2020-21 to stop hoarding and stabilise the price of flour in the province.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday, Fakhar said the Punjab government had announced its wheat policy earlier this month, which he maintained, helped it to lower the price of flour in the province.

The letter was written hours after Flour Mills Association in Sindh hiked prices of flour, blaming the provincial government for not providing wheat to the mills.

The federal minister said due to the price difference, the inter-provincial movement of wheat from Punjab to Sindh is putting pressure on wheat stock in Punjab “which could also lead to price hike” in the province.

The minister further added that due to the higher prices of wheat in Sindh, people of the province are forced to pay “exorbitant” price for flour. “The welfare of the people of Sindh shall always remain the top priority of its elected leaders and beyond politics,” he said.

Fakhar Imam urged CM Murad to take immediate and effective steps to stop hoarding and smuggling of wheat, stressing that any delay in the announcement of wheat policy may further escalate prices of the commodity.