April 05, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429

PESHAWAR, April 4: Flour prices in the NWFP markets have witnessed an increase of more than 20 per cent after Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani announced hike in the wheat support price.

Dealers in the food grain market of Peshawar told Dawn on Friday that a 20-kilogram bag of ordinary flour, which was available at Rs350 in wholesale market before the prime minister’s announcement, was being sold at Rs430 that showed a surge of Rs80 per bag in six days.

In retail prices, ranged between Rs450 to Rs470 per 20-kilogram bag, would further multiply the misery of low-paid people.

Haji Rambeel Khan, president NWFP Food Grain Dealers Association, said that soon after the prime minister’s announcement, the prices of wheat flour shot up. Citing reasons behind the abrupt raise, he alleged that it was mainly happening because of the flourmill owners and hoarders in Punjab who had created artificial scarcity of wheat in the open market.The increased wheat support price was Rs625 per 40-kilogram, whereas in the open market, the price was ranging between Rs1,000 and Rs1,200 that means the rates of wheat flour would further go up and consumers, particularly in Frontier, would bear the brunt, he maintained.

Market sources informed that the prices of wheat in Pakistan were still very high, which was the main attraction for hoarders, who were opting for smuggling of wheat and flour to neighbouring countries to make extra bucks.

Naeem Butt, chairman All Pakistan Flour Mills Association, said that currently in the international market price of a 100-kilogram wheat sack was Rs2,700 -- still high as compared to the prices at the local market. He agreed that flour prices in the coming days would show upward trend because of increase in the wheat support price: an average raise of Rs5 to Rs10 per kilogram.

Consumers, particularly in NWFP, he said, would be the ultimate sufferers. Approximate wheat requirement of the province, which shares boundaries with the tribal belt and also hosts a huge number of Afghan refugees, was more than 3.2 million tonne, out of which hardly 1.1 million tonne were grown locally and the remaining 2.1 million tonne was usually procured from Punjab.

Till recently the provincial government, he said, was used to procure 700,000 tonne of wheat from Punjab through local flourmills. For this year, the government had decided to procure one million tonne wheat from Punjab that would be provided to the local flourmills on subsidised rates, an official informed.But, flourmill owners said, the quantity would not fulfil the local demand and they had no other option but to purchase the commodity from the open market, Punjab, where the prices were even higher than those set by the government. “If local flourmill owners purchase wheat from Punjab on high price, naturally their cost will go up,” said Mr Butt.