CM approves subsidised wheat release to stabilise flour prices

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved the release of government wheat to flour mills at a subsidised rate from October 15 in a move aimed at stabilising flour prices and ensuring adequate supplies in the market.

Under the decision, a 100-kilogram bag of government wheat will be released at a subsidised price of Rs12,500.

The decision was taken during a meeting on the province's wheat stocks chaired by the chief minister at the CM House.

The chief minister directed the Food Department to begin wheat releases on October 15 and closely monitor market trends to ensure that the benefit of the government intervention was passed on to consumers through stable or lower flour prices. The meeting was informed that 346,414 tonnes of wheat were currently available in government stocks across the province. Another 190,000 metric tonnes would be procured from PASSCO, while 300,000 metric tonnes of imported wheat would be added to provincial stocks, taking the total quantity available for release to 836,414 tonnes.

Karachi currently has 135,948 metric tonnes of wheat, which is expected to rise to 565,948 tonnes following the arrival of PASSCO and imported stocks. A further 30,000 tonnes from PASSCO stocks have been allocated for Hyderabad, while 60,000 tonnes have been earmarked for Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad regions.

The meeting was told that the province had released 974,982 tonnes of wheat to the market last year. The additional PASSCO and imported stocks are expected to strengthen market supply and help contain price fluctuations.