Pindi admin fails to curb rising flour prices

Mill owners increase flour prices 15 times during outgoing year

RAWALPINDI:

Residents of the garrison city not only witnessed perpetual flour crisis but also faced the ballooning prices of flatbread during the outgoing year.

Since January 1, the prices of bread have increased four times and that of flour 15 times.

The district government, the food department and the price magistrate completely failed to control the rising in flour and bread prices throughout the year.

Flour dealers and mill owners blamed Punjab and federal governments for the rise in prices of flour and bread.

Naanbhais increased the price of roti, naan and paratha citing the rising flour prices but the local administration turned a blind eye to the unjustified increase.

The Naanbai against increased the prices of roti, naan and paratha in the district from December 20 without seeking prior permission from the local administration.

Naan is currently being sold for Rs20, Paratha and Rogni Naan for Rs35 and Khameer Naan for Rs15.

From January 1 to December 21, the price of Naan was increased to Rs7.

Nanbai Association President Shafiq Qureshi told The Express Tribune that the price of bread had to be increased after the prices of flour, ghee, electricity and gas all went up besides the labour cost.

He said that at the start of the year 2021, 85 kilograms of red flour bag was available at Rs4,200, which is now available at Rs5500. Similarly, he said, the fine flour bag was available at Rs 4,500 on January 1, which has risen to Rs6,000.

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He said that Ghee was available at Rs250 per kg on January 1 and which is now available Rs 410 per kg. He said that the electricity and gas cost has tripled in the last one year. He said that they used to get gas bills costing Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 per month at the start of the year but now it has increased up to Rs50,000.

He said that they had no option but to increase the price of the bread. Bring down the price of these things including the flour, we will sell the bread at old rates, he said.

Flour Dealers Association Central President Zahoor Bhatti said that the subsidized flour created problems. The government does not supply wheat on time and as required, flour mills produce more and more bags of 10 kg subsidized flour.

He said that as a result, dealers do not pick 10 kg bags from flour mills, which re-sell these bags in the open market at high rates.

“If the government ensures the availability of 20 kg bags of subsidized flour, the flour crisis will not arise,” he said.

Flour mill owners Abid Ali and Hussain Bakhsh said that the price of wheat had increased and “we can't supply cheap flour because of the high price of wheat”.

They said that if wheat is supplied cheaply and abundantly, then the Naan prices will go down automatically.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2021.