HYDERABAD, March 9: The food department has reduced the quota of wheat to chakki and flour mills following an increase in wheat price in the open market.

Market sources said that chakki-owners had started supplying flour at Rs180 per 10 kilogram to shopkeepers who were selling it at Rs19 per kilogram in sharp contrast to the official rate of Rs16.50 per kg.

“It was on March 8 that I bought 10 kilogram of flour for Rs180 while it was Rs170 on March 5,” said a shopkeeper, who showed the payment bill issued by a chakki-owner on a plain paper to avoid action by the food department. The shopkeeper said that now he was perturbed whether he should stop selling flour or sell it at Rs19 per kg after getting from chakki at Rs18 per kg.

Chakki-owner Jawad told Dawn that he was selling flour only at the retail price of Rs16.50 (Rs165 per 10 kg) as fixed by the district government.

He said that the quota of his chakki had been cut by 20 bags per unit and he had five units. The notification of flour price of Rs165 per 10 kg still holds the ground and no new notification has been issued to date.

The district government had to fix the price when wheat was sold at Rs30 to Rs35 per kg during the last year.

Some wheat centres were also set up to ensure regular supply of wheat. A committee was also set up to ensure regular supply of wheat and check the price fluctuation.

However, the committee members seemed to be unaware of the fast changing trends in wheat and flour prices over the last couple of days.

“We have not received any complaint from consumers regarding increase in flour prices,” said Q. Mohammad Hakim, the district government’s focal person on the wheat committee.

The food department is yet to begin wheat procurement through its centres as arrival of the new wheat crop is still awaited.

“Wheat harvesting will begin by mid-April,” said Sindh Abadgar Board president Abdul Majeed Nizamani.

It may be mentioned that growers have rejected the Rs510 rate announced by the government for wheat procurement and demanded that it should be around Rs1,000 per 100 kilogram.

The food department is supplying around 10,000 wheat bags to both chakkis and mills but 2,000 wheat bags have now been reduced.

“We are still depending on imported wheat that is being supplied to us by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP),” said Lal Khan Jatoi, regional director of the food department.

He, however, appeared satisfied with the existing wheat stocks in godowns and said fresh demands of wheat supply were lying with authorities concerned.

A broker, Nadeem, said that he had bought wheat at Rs1,600 to Rs1,620 per 100 kg two to three days back but now the grain was not available.

He said that new crop was being awaited to be supplied to chakki owners.