LAHORE: Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has said that the differential between world and domestic wheat prices has widened to over $100 per tonne, making it impossible for them to export wheat products and maintain the regional market share.

International prices have now dropped to around $200 per tonne and the domestic price has peaked to $315 (ex-godown), the association maintained.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had allowed export of 1.2 million tonnes, with a subsidy of $90 per tonne — shared by the federation ($55) and the province ($35) in February last.

Hardly 300,000 tonnes were exported, the federal and the provincial governments stopped renewing the subsidy offer.

Currently, the Sindh government had written a letter to the federal government for renewal, but letter from the Punjab government is still awaited.

Flanked by other leaders, Naeem Butt, chairman of the association, said that the federal government can allow the PFMA duty-free import of wheat so that it could continue supplying wheat products to Afghanistan and save their business.

The government should also allow the millers to export entire range of wheat products so that Central Asian states and Indian exporters do not dominate a market which has traditionally been enjoyed by Pakistan, he demanded.

“If the government fails to respond to the PFMA demands in the next one week, the association will convene a meeting on Dec 2 to chalk out its future plans,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015