Punjab may face wheat shortage

Punjab Flour Mills Association Chairman Asim Raza on Saturday warned that the province may face a shortage of the commodity as its stocks in the private sector were depleting fast, urging the government to release them timely.

“Only a few days wheat stock is left in the private sector. Wheat should be released immediately and distributed evenly,” he said while addressing a news conference in Lahore.

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Raza maintained that the price of wheat had crossed Rs2,150 per maund while the rate of a 20-kilogramme bag of flour reached Rs1,200 from Rs1,150.

He said the price of wheat in Lahore was Rs2,210 per maund while that of a 20kg bag was Rs1,180. In Islamabad, the price of wheat is Rs2,230 per maund, he noted.

There are over 1,000 flour mills in the province, many of which depend on the official wheat quota for their operation.