• Food dept allots 400 tonnes grain daily to each mill
• Millers reject restrictions, fear further hike in flour prices
• Chawla warns of strict action if millers exceed procurement limit

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday lifted a ban on inter-district movement of wheat but restricted daily supply of the commodity to 400 tonnes, from existing 200 tonnes, to each flour mill across province.

The food department claimed that the daily quota of the millers was restricted to 400 tonnes, or 4,000 bags of 100 kilograms each, to effectively control the prices by discouraging hoarding of the commodity.

However, the millers rejected the government decision of fixing 400-tonnes quota, fearing that the restriction was bound to lead to an increase in flour prices.

Dispelling the impression that the ban on wheat transportation was lifted due to pressure by flour millers, Food Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla told Dawn that the ban was lifted as the food department had procured over eight million bags, out of total procurement target of 10m bags.

He said that the food department had issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for procurement of wheat under which the millers could store 4,000 bags daily.

The minister said that strict action would be taken against those millers who stocked wheat more than the prescribed quantity of 4,000 bags.

He said that the provincial government had set a target of procuring 1.4 million metric ton wheat for 2023-24 and it was imperative to keep a vigilant check on stocking of wheat by hoarders.

The millers said that the wheat trucks arriving from interior parts of the province were still intercepted at different check posts and the restriction might result into a hike in the price of flour that was available at Rs150-180 per kg in the city.

The millers said Karachi was facing a shortage of grain due to the availability of a small quantity of wheat.

If the situation remained same and the check posts were not removed, flour prices would shoot up massively in the city, the millers warned, urging the provincial government to ensure free wheat movement to Karachi.

They urged the government to allow Karachi millers to directly purchase wheat from open market without any restriction.

Pakistan has imported 2.2 million tonnes of wheat in 8MFY23, costing $876m as compared to two million tonnes valuing $752m in the same period last fiscal year.

Millers to announce action plan in 48 hours

The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) rejected the government decision of restricting wheat procurement by millers to 4,000 bags.

PFMA Sindh region chairman Chaudhry Amir told Dawn that if the restriction on the delivery of wheat from rural parts of the province to flour mills in Karachi was not lifted, they would announce an action plan in the next 48 hours.

Chaudhry Amir said that there was hardly any need of an SOP for the purchase of wheat available in the open market.

“We strongly condemned the government’s decision to limit the millers’ quota to 4,000 bags,” he said and urged the government to immediately lift all restrictions on the shunting of wheat in the province.

He said that over 50 per cent of the mills had been closed due to the stoppage of wheat delivery in Karachi. “If the short supply continues, all the other flour mills in Karachi will also be closed down in the next few days,” he said, adding that the closure of mills would ultimately jack up flour prices in the city.

He said that the price of flour across the country was less than that in Sindh as there was no restriction of wheat procurement on millers in any other province.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2023