HYDERABAD, Aug 2: The Sindh government has not fixed the flour price yet, with the result that retailers wholesalers are selling flour at their own will.

An official source told this correspondent on Monday that the government normally fixed the price by July but this year it had been delayed for inexplicable reasons.

He claimed that the government would fix the flour price at not more than Rs13 per kg but currently retailers were charging Rs15 per kg. He said a 100kg wheat bag was being sold at Rs1,160, without additional charges of grinding and gunny bag.

The source pointed out that 170,000 wheat bags of 100kg each were available in godowns of the district food department whereas Hyderabad's requirement was 1,800,000 bags. He said 500,000 bags could be stored in the city's godowns.

He observed that once the rate was fixed by the government, the district food controller would be bound to provide wheat to flour mill and chakki owners as per their approved quotas. The office would not be in a position to ensure it as the available wheat would exhaust within a week, he added.

The source further said in the case the government was forced to import wheat, it would have to pay between Rs1,100 and Rs1,160 for a 100kg bag. The district food department is running short of wheat because it failed to achieve the wheat procurement target by June 30.

The Sindh government had offered Rs875 for a 100kg bag whereas in the open market the price of wheat was Rs1,000 to Rs1,100. On account of different rates in the market, the district food controller's office could procure 29,000 wheat bags of 100kg each.

There are 220 chakkis and 10 flour mills, one of them lying closed, in Hyderabad. Sources said a large quantity of wheat was also transported to Karachi from Hyderabad as there was no ban on wheat transportation before mid April. They said the procurement began on March 15 and ended on June 30.