PESHAWAR, May 8: Flour prices in local market registered a sharp increase during the last few days despite an uninterrupted supply of atta from Punjab, shows a survey.

But, as the Punjab government maintains a ban on the inter-provincial transportation of wheat, the dealers are expecting further increase in the flour prices.

Besides, NWFP Food Minister Fazle Rabbani said that a cabinet meeting was likely to discuss on Tuesday the situation arising out of the ban.

He said the flour prices would further increase in the coming days. "The Punjab government has imposed the ban to create an artificial crisis in the NWFP aimed at benefiting hoarders," he remarked.

Market sources said that the price of a 20kg fine quality flour ranged between Rs240 and Rs250. A few days back the same bag was available for Rs225.

The price of the ordinary quality bag was Rs200 till a few days back against Rs230 now.

The chairman of Anjuman Muttahida Tajiran, Peshawar city, Malik Zahoor, said the atta prices would continue to increase unless Punjab lifted the ban.

He said that a raise in the wheat prices by the Punjab government as well as a controversy between the two provinces had also contributed to the increase in the flour prices in the local market.

He pointed out that the wheat provided to the NWFP flour mills on subsidized rate did not facilitate local consumers as the millers smuggled flour to Afghanistan instead of selling it in local market.

Food officials said there was no shortage of flour in the province as 2,000 to 3,000 tons of flour was coming to the local market from Punjab daily.

The food inspectors and the city district government have failed to regularize the flour prices in the city and other parts of the province.

Col Tahir Yaseen, food director, said how could his department regulate the prices when it did not provide wheat to the millers.

Another senior functionary of the food department held the provincial government responsible for creating the wheat crisis, saying the food minister was only safeguarding the interests of millers and ignoring the people.

He said that normally the government did not provide any wheat to millers from May to August and thus, he maintained, the hue and cry raised by them was unjustified.

RALLY: The All Pakistan Flour Mills Association took out a motorcade in Peshawar on Saturday to protest against the ban imposed by Punjab on wheat transportation and blocked G.T. Road at Khairabad for about an hour.