KARACHI, July 12: After failing to prevail upon flour mills owners to bring down wheat prices, the provincial government’s food department has decided to launch an operation against millers if they failed to observe the ex-mill price in the province.
Interestingly, when it was suggested that the minister concerned and food department’s officials should take along the media during raids against the millers, the provincial food secretary deflected the suggestion.
Addressing a news conference on Saturday, the acting provincial Minister for Food, Agha Taimur, said that after a meeting with the relevant officials of his ministry, the ex-mill wheat flour price in Karachi was fixed at Rs22 per kilo while the retail price was fixed at Rs23.50 per kilo. Besides, he said, the ex-mill rate in the interior of the province had been fixed at Rs19 per kilo.
The minister claimed that the office-bearers of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association, Sindh chapter, had failed to honour their commitment with the Sindh chief minister regarding the provision of flour to consumers at reduced rates even after they were allowed to procure wheat from all the districts of the province.
He said Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in last week’s meeting with the representatives of the flour mills association had accepted all their demands, including removal of more than 300 check-posts and lifting of a ban on inter-district movement of the commodity on the assurance that they would provide relief to the masses by reducing wheat flour prices to Rs22 per kilo.
However, he deplored the fact that they had backed out from their commitment as they were still selling wheat flour at higher rates, which had compelled the department to initiate action against them. Similarly, those millers would also be subjected to punitive steps if more than 3,000 wheat bags were found in their possession, he added.
Earlier this limit was 15,000 bags, which had been reduced to discourage the purchase of large quantities of the commodity by some individuals.
Stalls to be set up
The acting minister said that from July 14, all the 72 flour mills in the city would set up stalls in front of their mills from where consumers would be able to purchase wheat flour at reduced rates of Rs24 per kilo.
He categorically stated that his department would not hesitate in proceeding against all those officials accused of supporting the hoarders.
Replying to a question, he claimed that the relevant officials of the department had been assigned the task to carry out raids on the hoarders of wheat flour and in a recent successful raid in Dadu district, they had managed to seize a substantial quantity of the commodity.
The secretary of the Sindh food department, replying to a question, said that the department was not responsible for ensuring availability of flour at controlled rates at the retail outlets as it was the duty of the city district government to proceed against such offenders.
The minister said that millers were selling flour at Rs25 per kilo ex-mill rate in violation of the government rates and brokers added to this price, pushing the rates to Rs28 per kilo. He said that teams of the food department would start raiding flour mills across the province from Saturday besides taking stern action against the hoarders.
The minister said that imported wheat – which was due to be released by September 2008 – would now be released to the millers before the scheduled time after a meeting with the Sindh chief minister.
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