September 06, 2008	Saturday	Ramazan 05, 1429

PESHAWAR, Sept 5: Flour millers have complained that the quality of wheat recently imported for the NWFP is ‘substandard’ and warned of public outrage in the next few days if sufficient quantity of local wheat is not provided for mixing.

Mohammad Sadiq, provincial chairman of the All Pakistan Flour Mills Association, told Dawn on Friday that the quality of wheat imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) was not up to the mark and it needed at least 50 per cent mixing of indigenous wheat.

The TCP, he said, had imported hard red wheat through which flour millers could not produce fair-coloured flour as liked by consumers. Flour mills needed at least 50 per cent locally-produced wheat to be mixed with the imported wheat for producing a reasonable quality of flour, he added.

Also, he said, the ratio of wastage in the imported wheat was high as compared to the local wheat, which was causing financial losses to flour millers.

He recalled that the TCP, while calling tenders for wheat imports, had indicated 1 per cent wastage, but for unknown reasons this wastage ratio had been increased to 3 per cent.

Mr Sadiq feared a crisis in the next week because of the Punjab government’s refusal to lift the ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat.

“If we cannot buy local wheat, how we can produce quality flour out of the substandard imported wheat,” he asked.

Till date, he said, the provincial government was issuing a limited quantity of local wheat, which flour millers were using for mixing purpose while grinding the imported wheat just to maintain minimum standards of quality.

However, he said, the situation might worsen if the government could not arrange sufficient stock of local wheat in the next few days.

The local wheat, he further said, was packed in jute sacks that cost Rs53 per bag and its resale value was Rs35-40, which meant the millers had to bear a loss of Rs15 per bag, which could be adjusted easily.

But the imported wheat was supplied to mills in plastic bags and the cost of two bags was Rs82, whereas their resale value was not more than Rs30, which meant that flour millers had to bear a loss of Rs50, he added.

When contacted, NWFP Food Minister Mohammad Shuja dispelled the impression that the imported wheat was substandard. He, however, conceded that it needed mixing of local wheat.

The TCP, he said, had imported hard red wheat, whose colour was different from the locally-produced wheat and the government was already issuing sufficient quantity of indigenous wheat for mixing.

The Punjab government, he said, had made commitment to provide 750,000 tons of wheat to NWFP, which was planned to be used for mixing. But, he said, Punjab had only released 50,000 tons instead, adding: “It is not sufficient to meet our demands.”

The minister said another consignment of 380,000 tons imported wheat had reached the Port Qasim, of which 70 per cent would be given to the NWFP.

“I have been told that this consignment is of soft wheat, so we can use it for mixing purpose,” said the minister, adding: “We can avert the crisis-like situation.”