KARACHI: Already struggling to survive under unprecedented food inflation, Sindh millers on Thursday multiplied consumers’ plight by further increasing the flour prices as well as suspending supplies.

Pakistan Flour Mills Association Sindh Zone Chairman Amir Abdullah explaining the reasons for this extreme step told a press conference that the Sindh Food Department had been supplying poor quality wheat in insufficient quantities and forcing millers to provide flour at low rates to the consumers.

He said the food department was also using other pressure tactics and sealing mills in Karachi and interior Sindh on alleged hoarding charges.

“We would not tolerate this kind of treatment and decided to close milling operations across the province in protest,” announced Mr Amir, adding that 92 mills in Karachi had stopped producing flour from Wednesday night besides suspending the supply of flour, maida, fine flour and bran in the markets. Gate sale of flour varieties at the mills was also suspended.

He said there might be little flour stock in the shops and consumers would feel a flour shortage soon.

He said no mill should lift/accept wheat from government godowns while no new wheat challan would be collected from the Food Department Office. No mill staff would be sent to any government godown or Food Dept Office.

Two weeks back, flour mills, while refusing to sell the commodity at the government-agreed ex-mill rate of Rs 95 per kilo, had increased the price of flour No.2.5 to Rs105 per kg.

“We have further raised the rate of flour No.2.5 to Rs 130 per kg due to a lukewarm response from the government,” PFMA Sindh Chief said, adding that the Association had asked the Sindh food department to renegotiate the ex-mill price.

Due to the lack of any response, millers had pushed up the rate, blaming inadequate supply for the increase in prices.

Mills in Karachi got only 127,000 tonnes of wheat as against the agreed quota of 200,000 tonnes for February. The open market rate of wheat has also surged to Rs 11,500 from Rs 10,500 per 100 kg bag in the last two weeks, he said.

The Sindh government raised the wheat rate to Rs 8,500 per 100kg bag from Rs 5,825 when a low-price flour bag of Rs650 per 10kg was launched in September 2022.

General Secretary Karachi Retail Grocers Group (KRGG), Farid Qureishi said “the markets will have flour stocks for the next three days. Law and order situation and wheat bag snatching will start in case the issues between the government and flour mills linger on. The issue should be settled immediately.”

Mills sealed

According to a handout issued by the Sindh government on Thursday, on the directives of the Chief Secretary Sindh, officers of the food department and assistant commissioners of respective sub-divisions conducted raids at various flour mills of Karachi and Shaheed Benazirabad region on account of hoarding government wheat stocks, non-grinding and selling atta at higher prices in violation of notified ex-mill prices.

Several flour mills have been sealed which include Adil Flour Mills, Farhan Flour Mills, Hamza Flour Mills, Hyderi Flour Mills, Qalandari Flour Mills and Indus Flour Mills etc.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2023