LAHORE: A crackdown was launched on flour mill owners in the province on the direction of Punjab Food Secretary Nadir Chattha.

Deputy Director Food Umair Sagheer in Multan arrested a mill owner for blackmarketing the flour and also recovered hundreds of tonnes of wheat and flour from their custody.

The deputy director recovered 200 bags of flour from a warehouse on Bosan Road, and 900 bags of wheat and flour from the mill.

Punjab is facing a shortage of 4,000 tonnes of flour on a daily basis while flour mills are charging heavily.

The wheat shortage started increasing after the heavy floods in the southern part of the province as the wheat stored in the house of southern Punjab washed away.

The government provides 18,000 tonnes of wheat to private millers on a daily basis in the province but 22,000 tons of wheat is required in the province.

The current political situation is also increasing the problem for the people as the province had demanded 22,000 tonnes of wheat per day but the summary is pending in the federal cabinet for approval.

Private millers are short of wheat due to the severe floods in southern parts of the province as the demand for flour increased all over the province. The government is providing 18,000 tons of wheat to the market at Rs2,300 per maund. However, the flour millers sell flour at exuberant rates.

The difference in the price of the flour was also creating problems for the people of the province and they would have to buy flour by paying heavy charges due to shortage.

The government also has purchased 500,000 tonnes of wheat to address the shortage but 115,000 tonnes have been received to date. The remaining 385,000 tonnes of wheat would have yet to arrive in the country to address the shortage.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022