LAHORE: Nearly 40 per cent of flour mills in the Rawalpindi-Islamabad region have shut down amid mounting losses, with millers warning that the remaining units may also close if the Punjab government does not immediately revise its wheat and flour policy.

The warning came in a strongly-worded appeal circulating in flour millers’ WhatsApp groups, addressed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz by former vice chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Punjab, Chaudhry Afzal Mahmood Advocate.

The appeal claimed that inconsistent government policies, discriminatory wheat distribution mechanisms and administrative interference had pushed the flour milling industry to the brink of collapse in the Rawalpindi-Islamabad region.

According to the statement, two flour mills owned by the former association office-bearer had already been shut down after suffering continuous losses during the last two years.

PFMA Punjab former office-bearer claims closure of 40pc of units, seeks uniform pricing, equal wheat distribution

The appeal alleged that billions of rupees invested in the sector had been wiped out, while the government was also losing millions in electricity-related taxes and income tax revenues due to the closure of mills.

The millers argued that southern Punjab, being a wheat-producing belt, was receiving preferential treatment, whereas mills in Rawalpindi and Islamabad had to bear additional transportation costs of Rs200 to Rs250 per maund to procure wheat from private sources.

The appeal further alleged that the food department and local administration were selling flour at lower rates sourced from Punjab mills, causing financial losses to flour mills operating in the twin cities. It claimed that flour prices were being fixed through “forced administrative measures” while mills were being compelled to sell below cost.

The document stated that flour mills in the region were currently receiving permits for only 40 tonnes or around 400 bags of wheat after every four days, which the millers described as insufficient to sustain operations. It alleged that the official wheat price stood at Rs4,100 per maund while flour prices were being fixed at Rs4,000 per maund, resulting in losses of up to Rs600 per maund after adding electricity bills, salaries and other operational expenses.

The appeal also accused the food department bureaucracy of acting like a “mafia” and exercising excessive control over the flour trade. It criticised what it called a “WhatsApp-based policy system”, alleging that new instructions and policies were being issued daily without long-term planning.

The millers claimed that thousands of workers had lost jobs due to mill closures and warned that social security contributions, workers’ welfare funds, professional taxes and other government revenues linked to the industry had sharply declined.

The appeal urged the Punjab government to formulate policy in consultation with “genuine representatives” of the flour milling sector, ensure equal wheat distribution across regions, provide wheat quotas to closed mills to help restore employment, and introduce a uniform flour pricing mechanism across Punjab.

It also called for a market-based system instead of administrative controls, arguing that if low-markup loans had been provided directly to flour mills for wheat procurement, consumers could have received cheaper and better-quality flour through open competition.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026