ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: The Sindh Food Department (SFD) on Saturday contested the assertion of the Federal Food Committee (FFC) that ex-mills flour price in the province was higher than the rest of the country.

The SFD said that flour was being sold at the gates of the mills at Rs15 per kg and a 20-kg bag cost Rs300.

Rangers deployed at the mills were ensuring that flour was not sold on higher than official rates, said the statement. It further said that action would be taken against those mills which flouted the official rates.

FFC chairman Let- Gen (retd) Farooq Ahmed Khan had briefed reporters on Friday that ex-mills flour price in Sindh was Rs340 per 20-kg, where as in Punjab it was Rs285.

Under existing rules, mills in Punjab are grinding 70pc of government’s wheat and 30pc of their own. And all provinces are required to do so.

Although 100pc of wheat being ground by the Sindh-based mills are supplied from the government’s godowns, the price is still higher in Sindh than Punjab.