PESHAWAR, Sept 14: The Punjab government's ban on the transportation of wheat from the province, is being flouted in connivance with dealers from Punjab by supplying the commodity to flour mills in Peshawar and its adjoining areas, according to business circles.

"We have no other option but to buy the smuggled wheat to keep our mill going," said a miller. An office-bearer of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), NWFP, told Dawn that financially sound flour millers with affordability to buy wheat at a price higher than the prevalent market rates were procuring wheat from Punjab in defiance of the ban imposed by the Punjab government.

An organized group of dealers from Punjab is said to be supplying wheat to flour mills in parts of the NWFP illegally. "In some of the instances, trucks loaded with wheat meant for flour mills in Peshawar were also said to be confiscated by law enforcement agencies in Punjab," said the miller, adding that "we have not contacted any body to supply wheat, rather, there are dealers in Punjab who are taking advantage of the situation".

Market sources said that the dealers were charging Rs 100 more per 100 kilogramme bag. A bag of 100 kilogramme wheat is available at a price of around Rs 1,040 whereas the same bag costs the flour millers Rs 1,140.

The millers accused the government of Punjab of protecting the interest of certain influential flour millers belonging to the central Punjab. They said that they would not resort to procure expensive wheat transporting illegally from Punjab if the four-month long ban was lifted or even if the government of Punjab fulfilled its promise of providing 100,000 tons wheat from its official stocks to the NWFP flour mills.

However, the mills receiving wheat through illegal channels are a few in number as majority of the NWFP's flour millers did not have the financial capacity to opt for the expensive option, the sources added.

Out of 260 flour mills in the NWFP, around 160 are functioning, according to the provincial government's data. The rest have been closed down owing to the non-availability of wheat.

Though some of the millers had managed to keep their mills running on smuggled wheat, they could not compete with the prices of flour supplied to Peshawar's market in bulk from Punjab every day, said the miller.

"We are procuring a bag of 100 kilogramme wheat from Punjab at a price of Rs 1,140 whereas Punjab's millers are supplying a bag of 98 kilogramme wheat flour (their finished product-atta) at a price of Rs 1,140," the miller said. "In such a situation how can we compete with their product even in our local market?" said the manager of a mill that is also procuring wheat from Punjab.