Flour prices reach record high

Mill owners accuse food dept of destabilising market

LAHORE:

Amid the resumption of a crackdown by the Punjab Food Department on illegal transportation of wheat, the flour price in the province has increased substantially.

The market price of wheat rose by Rs250 per maund and that of a 20kg flour bag by Rs100 on Wednesday. The price of a flour bag in Lahore and Rawalpindi rose to Rs2,550. The price of a 100kg sack of Maida rose to Rs11,000 following a Rs500 increase.

Over the past week, the price of wheat has escalated by Rs400 per maund and flour by Rs200 per 20kg.

The Flour Mills Association accused the food department of causing instability and a crisis in the markets across Punjab in their pursuit of purchasing four million tonnes of wheat.

Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) chairman Asim Raza Ahmed asserted while speaking to reporters that the department’s current strategy of buying 2,000 tonnes of wheat daily was set to prove insufficient to achieve the target but lead to a flour crisis in Punjab.

The wheat price in Lahore has risen to Rs4,450 per maund and in Rawalpindi Rs4,550.

Despite the price increase, flour mills are struggling to obtain the required quantity of wheat.

The flour mill owners’ leader said the department, with the assistance of the district administrations, had effectively restricted the mills’ access to wheat in Punjab.

While the mills had a stock of over 1.5 million tonne of wheat at the time of last year’s harvest, they currently possess only around 700,000 tonnes, he said.

Two weeks ago, the price of wheat in Punjab had dropped to Rs4,080 per maund, with a bag of flour costing Rs2,350.

He alleged that the department had resumed its crackdown while ignoring court orders and the move would benefit a mafia that was exploiting the situation by blackmailing the mills into purchasing wheat at inflated prices to maintain their market supply.

Asim Raza said that despite a bumper crop in Punjab, the food department’s targets had not been achieved and the flour mills continued to face a shortage of wheat.

He claimed that millions of tonnes of wheat had fallen into the hands of hoarders.

Asim Raza called for an investigation against those responsible for raising the price of wheat immediately after the arrival of new produce in Rawalpindi. He said the wheat permits in Rawalpindi had been discontinued during the past week.

According to sources, the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner contacted Food Director Shozaib Saeed on June 12 to report the rising prices of flour due to the non-issuance of wheat permits. Despite the order of the director, the permits have not been issued.

According to mill owners, the Bahawalnagar district administration has refused to recognise government permits issued for the purchase of wheat in Lahore.

Chakki Owners Association president Malik Liaquat said the rising prices of wheat had also made production from the units difficult.

“So far we are refraining from increasing the price, but if the government crackdown and ban on inter-district movement of wheat continues, we will also be forced to increase the flour price,” he added.

On the other hand, a businessman said the problem could be solved if the government immediately announced the import of wheat.

Sources in the food department said it had bought more than 3.9 million tonnes of wheat. “If the government orders, we will stop further procurement of wheat,” an official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2023.