Bakers seek relief as flour prices soar

Association warns current allocation is insufficient amid rising flour prices

RAWALPINDI:

Following sharp increases in wheat flour and fine flour prices, the Nanbai Association has demanded that the deputy commissioner increase the subsidised flour quota for registered tandoors and end long queues for purchasing government wheat flour.

Nanbai Association Central President Shafiq Qureshi said that in Rawalpindi Division, each registered tandoor is allocated a daily quota of five bags of subsidised "red flour," while actual daily consumption ranges from eight to ten bags of 20 kilograms each.

He said the existing quota was insufficient and called for at least three additional bags per tandoor, raising the daily quota to eight bags. Qureshi said tandoor owners are forced to buy three to five bags daily from the open market at higher prices. He noted that a year ago, a 79-kg bag of red flour cost Rs9,300, which has now jumped to Rs11,350 after sudden increases. Similarly, a bag of fine flour, previously priced at Rs10,000, has risen to Rs12,100.

Currently, the price of naan stands at Rs35, while a paratha and roghni naan cost Rs60—rates he said were already beyond the reach of the poor. He warned that if prices were increased further, low-income consumers would stop buying them altogether. The association demanded that the government reduce prices of fine flour and maida, restoring them to the previous rate of Rs10,000 per bag, otherwise bakers would be compelled to raise naan, paratha and roghni naan prices.

He also complained that tandoor owners are made to stand in long queues for hours to receive subsidised red flour under the quota system, calling for an end to the existing arrangement. Otherwise, he warned, the association would resort to strikes and protests.

He added that if flour and maida prices increase further, prices of roti, naan and paratha would automatically be raised.