KARACHI, Aug 11: Leaders of All Pakistan Flour Mills Association are meeting on Tuesday in Lahore to consider situation arising out of continued ban on inter-provincial wheat movement imposed by the Punjab government and delay by the federal food and agricultural ministry in announcing issue price for wheat quota allocation for the mills.

But overall approach of the millers appear to be somewhat soft towards the government as Iqbal Daud Pakwala, chairman of the Sindh circle of the association said on Monday that a meeting of industry leaders with federal food minister last Wednesday in Islamabad was positive and the Punjab government is expected to lift restriction on wheat movement in a day or two.

He hoped that the federal food ministry will announce the issue price of wheat before August 20. The provincial foods departments in Sindh and Punjab are expected to announce wheat quota allocation for flour mills by then.

With more than 4.5 million tons of wheat in government stores in Punjab and Sindh and an import programme of 2.5 million tons in coming weeks, the millers in Karachi expect that the hoarders in Punjab will have no option but to bring out one million tons of wheat in open market.

A ban on wheat movement by the Punjab government since the commencement of harvesting in April has caused extreme bitterness in three other provinces and triggered protests by millers, traders, consumers, politicians and bureaucrats in Balochistan, the NWFP and Sindh, which reflected political overtones.

“Punjab government’s decision to lift restriction on movement, if at all it comes, is virtually delayed as harvesting is all over now and the speculators, hoarders and profiteers bought wheat from the farmers and made good money by getting premium prices from two deficit provinces — the NWFP and Balochistan — as well as from Karachi in Sindh,” a miller remarked.

Wheat price in open market in Karachi is Rs2,300 for a 100 kg bag in Karachi. Wheat flour is being sold at Rs24.50 for a kg to consumers in selected fair price shops but the usual price is Rs28 top Rs30 a kg. Millers indicate that if issue price is kept less than Rs700 for a 40 kg bag as against the existing market rate of Rs720, there will be enough margin for unscrupulous millers to sell their allocated quota.