LAHORE: Tandoor owners in the Punjab capital have announced to increase roti and naan prices by 60pc by the weekend on their own if the authorities concerned do not approve the raise in the prices.

In a letter sent to the deputy commissioner on Tuesday, the Muttahida Nanbai Association Lahore drew the attention of the officer towards an 80pc increase in wheat flour price during the last couple of weeks and demanded an increase in the roti and naan rates to adjust the flour price hike in the provincial capital.

Association chairman Ayub Shah and president Aftab Gill said the flour rate increase had made it impossible for them to sell a 100 gram roti at Rs15 and demanded setting the new price at Rs25 per unit in commensurate with the market rate of flour.

If implemented, roti, naan rates to witness 60pc increase

A forty percent increase would mean taking the naan price to Rs35 where it is sold at Rs25 and Rs42 where it is being sold at Rs30.

Mr Shah and Mr Gill said the association had always been fixing the roti price in consultation with the district administration and hoped that the DC would oblige it this time too by officially announcing the enhanced rates.

Mr Gill tells Dawn the association will wait for two more days for the official notification of rate increase; otherwise, it will unilaterally enhance roti and naan rates by the weekend.

Flour millers in Punjab jacked up the prices of their products after provincial food department authorities announced on Sunday that it would issue wheat to the millers at Rs3,900 per 40kg against the earlier rate of Rs2,300 per 40kg. The decision was made to prevent hoarding of the present stocks of the grain by the unscrupulous elements to sell it to the government at the new official wheat support price of Rs3,900 during the procurement of new crop that would hit the market next month.

To protect the poorest of the poor from the price hike shock, the government also decided to provide 23,000 tonnes of wheat to the millers who would supply at least 2.1m 10kg bags of flour daily in the market under the free flour scheme.

The millers will, however, pay Rs767 per 40kg for the bran, fine and other byproducts they extract by grinding wheat.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2023