Flour prices fall, bread rates unchanged

Ata selling at Rs120 in retail down from highs of Rs180-220

KARACHI:

Despite the significant decrease in the price of flour, the price of roti and naan at tandoors in Karachi could not decrease. Tandoori naan is still being sold at Rs25 and chapati at Rs15 to Rs20 in the city.

Besides the tandoor owners, the manufacturers of bakery products, bread, bun and rusk, are refusing to lower the rates on the assertion that although the price of flour has come down the cost of production due to hike in gas and electricity tariff has gone up.

While there is a crackdown underway in Punjab, the people in Sindh have yet to see action by the government against refusal of tandoor owners and bread makers to cut prices.

Citizens have demanded that the price of roti should be reduced as the price of flour has decreased.

According to Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, Chairman of Wholesale Grocers Association, the price of flour has decreased by Rs19 in a week and Rs40 rupees during a month. Flour has come down from extreme highs Rs180 to Rs220 per kg.

The regular fine flour used for making chapatti is selling for Rs104 in the wholesale and Rs120 in the retail, Ibrahim said, pointing out that the official rate of this flour is Rs123 per kg. Whereas, when the tandoor owners had hiked the rates of naan to Rs25 the regular flour was selling at Rs180 to Rs200 per kg, he reminded.

Similarly, the extra fine flour used in the manufacture of puri, paratha, white bread and bakery items was selling in the wholesale at Rs122 per kg and in the retail at Rs140 per kg. Whereas, when the bread makers had pushed up the rates of branded industrial breads, buns and other such items, the fine flour had reached Rs220 per kg.

The civic circles and grocers flour is now available at cheaper rates in the market therefore the Sindh government should review and issue new official rates of flour products immediately. The rates of roti and bread (double roti) should be reduced by issuing new official rate, they said.

On the other hand, tandoor owners say that the price of gas has increased with the decrease in the price of flour. Due to the gas crisis in Karachi, 70 to 80 per cent tandoors are running on Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which incurs additional cost, said a representative of the Tandoor Owners Association.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2024.