Flour hits Rs3,500 per 20 kilos in K-P
PHOTO: FILE
There is no end in sight to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) flour crisis as on Sunday, a 20-kilo bag of flour touched an all-time high of Rs3,500 in the local retail market.
Due to the unprecedented hike in the wheat flour prices bread bakers have been forced to sell bread at Rs30 as against the official price of Rs15 despite the fact that the district administration has turned down the request for an upward price revision.
Every effort on the part of the provincial government to keep the prices steady have failed to yield result as K-P is 75 per cent dependent on Punjab for its flour supply.
“The price of 80-kilo bag has jumped from Rs12,000 to Rs14,000 in a single day. A 20-kilo bag is now sold at Rs3,500,” said a flour dealer, adding that previously one kilo atta was available at Rs120 per kilogram but now it had touched Rs175 per kilo mark.
Dealers said that due to the political situation, the supply of flour had dropped dramatically thereby causing a severe shortage in the K-P market.
Since K-P is heavily dependent on supply from Punjab, it is now up to the flour millers of Punjab to decide the prices and they are selling us the stuff at their own rates, said the dealer, adding that K-P government had little control in this situation as it has no backup.
“The provincial government just purchases 25 per cent wheat and the rest of the demand is met by supplies from Punjab,” he noted.
Punjab is the only province in the country which produces surplus wheat and its food department purchase stocks each year as the government provides subsidy on each bag to keep prices under control in the province. As a result, there is a severe crisis in the entire country other than the Punjab province.
It may be mentioned here that in the past one month flour got pricier by Rs5,000 per 80 kilo bag in K-P. Talking to The Express Tribune bread bakers said that Rs15 per roti was the price when flour was sold at Rs6,000 per 80 kilo bag which had touched Rs14,000 level but still authorities were unwilling to do anything.
On Sunday, Provincial General Secretary JUI-F, Maulana Ataulhaq Darwesh called upon Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to come forward and negotiate with the Punjab government for lifting the ban on flour supply to K-P.
“Government should take immediate steps against the illegal restricted supply from Punjab to other provinces,” he said.
In a statement issued here, he criticized the policies pursued by the provincial government and said that the chief minister and his administrative machinery failed to provide relief to the masses despite spending nine years in power.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2023.