Need of the hour: Mill association demands wheat at Rs1,280 per 40kg

PFMA chairman says they are provided flour at same rate at which it is purchased.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Flour Mill Association (PFMA) has urged the provincial government to provide wheat at Rs1,280 per 40 kilogrammes as opposed to the current rate of Rs1,300.

The demand was put forward by PFMA provincial chairman Malik Iftikhar Ahmad Awan during an executive committee meeting in the city on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, the chairman said if the government does not fix the price at the stipulated rate it could lead to an increase in the prices of wheat products. “This will have a negative impact on the public,” he said.

Survival strategy

The chairman insisted the government should provide wheat to mills at a fixed rate so they can continue to remain operational.

Discrepancies

Awan also voiced his concerns over the fact that mills are provided flour at the same rate at which the government purchases it. He said the government had allocated a subsidy of Rs4 billion on wheat in last year’s budget.



However, this has not led to an adjustment in the rate at which it is available to flour mills.  According to Awan, there has been no relief for the people of the province. “The annual consumption of wheat in the province is approximately four million,” he said. “However, flour mills are provided only 0.4 million tonnes of the crop.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2015.