March 02, 2008	Sunday	Safar 23, 1429

LAHORE, March 1: The Pakistan Flour Mills Association, Punjab branch, on Saturday announced a Rs5 increase in the price of a 20kg flour bag in view of hike in production cost due to upward revision of POL rates and electricity tariff.

Association Chairman Habibur Rahman Ghazi said in a statement that the ex-mill flour bag price was being raised from Rs290 and retail price from Rs295 to Rs300.

The mills were constrained to raise the price because they were being issued government wheat for hardly four to four-and-a-half-hour requirements daily and could not absorb the increase in POL and power rates.

Meanwhile, Bilal Sufi, the chairman of the FPCCI Standing Committee on Flour Milling, said 80,000 flour bags of 20kg each would be supplied to Sunday bazaars in the city for Rs275 each.