KARACHI, Aug 21: As many as 150 flour mills of Sindh have not lifted any of the wheat stock reserves despite the fact that the price has been reduced to Rs827 per 100 kg from Rs850 per 100 kg.

“The main reason of not lifting the wheat reserves is the Sindh government’s preference for releasing the old wheat reserves of 1999-2000 crop instead of new crop,” vice chairman Sindh chapter of Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), Naeem Ahmed Khan Malik told Dawn on Wednesday.

“Our members have not lifted even a single bag of wheat from the Sindh stocks in the last two days,” he said. The Sindh Agriculture department has over 700,000 tons of stocks from 1999-2000 crop, over 200,000 tons from 2001 crop and around 275,000 tons from new crop.

Flour millers had been given an impression in the August 19 meeting of Sindh Agriculture Department that the prices had been cut by Rs23 per 100 kg of new crop. “The situation is totally different today and the millers are being forced to get wheat of two years old stock,” he said.

“The agriculture department should now clear the situation and ask its relevant officers to release wheat of new crop at Rs827 per 100 kg,” Naeem Khan said.

He showed his concern that the old wheat crop might have attracted excessive dust and other materials. In other words, the 100 kg wheat input will produce hardly 85 kg atta of inferior quality.

PFMA vice chairman said that wheat stocks from old crop should be disposed of through open tenders from the private parties.

In the last two days, the wheat price in open market has dropped by Rs10 per 100 kg bag following reduction in price by Sindh government by Rs23 per 100 kg bag.

The provincial government had cut the price to bring uniformity in the rates all over the country. Secretary Food Sindh had informed the meeting on August 19 that wheat reserves in Sindh today stand at 940,000 tons and are in a safe condition.