SWABI, May 22: After the arrival of fresh crops, wheat hoarders have become active and flour prices are skyrocketing in the district. Consumers have demanded of the government to take action against wheat hoarders so that common people could get some relief in a time of crisis.

A visit to the local markets revealed that a 20kg bag of flour was available at Rs530 and a 50kg bag of wheat was not available even at Rs1,100.

Residents complained that instead of decrease, the prices of flour had increased by Rs10 per bag. Government officials and local traders admitted that in the past the prices of flour used to increase before the harvesting/thrashing season, however, with the arrival of new crops it used to decrease.

However, this year the prices were still high. Consumers said claims of the district government and officials of the food department about reversing of wheat flour prices with the yielding of fresh wheat production had proved entirely hollow.

The situation also forced the local administration to take action and police seized two trucks of flour the other day. The movement of flour to other districts has been banned till further order.

According to officials, the reasons of the skyrocketing prices included raise in support price of wheat; competition for wheat procurement among the flourmill owners, traders and consumers; political instability; lack of government control over price of commodities; and flourmill owners’ higher rates of the produce.

Sources claimed that traders were in league with flourmill owners to deprive the common people of wheat. They were paying more than the government support price and it had became difficult for the produce seekers to get a 50kg bag of wheat even at Rs1,100. The sources said that the traders and flourmill owners were hoarding wheat and the government had failed to take action against them.

“A trader has two trucks of wheat in his store, when I asked him to give me a 50kg bag, he demanded Rs1,500,” said a man from Kotha area.

If these traders, who were hoarding wheat in the district, failed to sell it at higher prices in the local markets they would give it to the flourmill owners or smuggle it to Afghanistan, the sources said. They claimed that some of the traders had been paid by the flourmill owners in advance and they were told to buy wheat for them.