KARACHI, Aug 5: Top leaders of All Pakistan Flour Mills Association (APFMA) are meeting Federal Food Minister Nazar Mohammad Gondal on Wednesday in Islamabad to demand lifting ban on inter-provincial wheat movement imposed by the Punjab government.

The unilateral ban since the commencement of harvesting in April-May has caused much bitterness in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP as wheat flour has become scarce and prices have gone up.

Millers warn consumers of a ‘tough Ramazan’ while alleging that repeated pleas made with the federal government to urge Punjab government for lifting of the ban proved futile.

“We also want release of wheat and allocation for quotas to flour mills from government stocks by August 15 on officially fixed issue price,” APFMA Sindh Chapter Chairman Iqbal Daud, who will join other leaders of milling industry for meeting with the minister, told Dawn from Islamabad on Tuesday.

The millers meeting with the federal minister comes immediately after an all Pakistan protest meeting of milling industry on Monday at Peshawar in which the government has been given a deadline of August 12 to lift ban on inter-provincial wheat movement.

On August 12 a general body meeting of flour millers is being held in Lahore to decide closure of business, if Punjab government refuses to end the inter-provincial wheat movement restriction.

In Karachi, wheat prices in the open market were quoted at Rs2,310 to Rs2,320 for a 100-kg bag on Tuesday while it was less than Rs2,000 in Lahore. In Peshawar and Quetta and other cities and towns of the NWFP and Balochistan the wheat flour was being retailed at Rs26 to Rs29 a kg.

Consumers’ unending agitation on scarcity of wheat and high price of wheat flour in Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi and in other big and small cities and towns put the three provincial governments under tremendous pressure and the politicians and bureaucrats are not concealing their bitterness on what they allege: “Punjab government’s illegal and unconstitutional restriction on wheat movement.”

“Imagine what will happen in Punjab if we decide to stop gas supply,” a political leader in Quetta told this correspondent in June this year. Another bureaucrat in Quetta secretariat said that wheat scarcity and high flour prices had caused law and order problem in Chaman and other cities. “We may consider a retaliation if Punjab government does not reconsider its decision.”

“The Pashtuns can disturb hydel electric supply to Punjab and other parts of the country in protest,” a miller said. He said the loudest protest against Punjab’s restriction on wheat movement has come from Peshawar and other cities of the NWFP.

While Punjab has imposed wheat movement restriction to other provinces, it allowed transportation of wheat flour and fine flour on permit. Millers in three provinces alleged that Punjab government is keeping its industry in operation at the cost of closure of mills in the three other provinces. “Only mills in Punjab are meeting the grinding requirement of three provinces,” a miller said.

Karachi suffered for more than four months because the Sindh government imposed an inter-district wheat movement. During the initial period of harvesting, the government allowed Karachi millers to purchase wheat from Mirpurkhas, Sanghar and Hyderabad. Later, Karachi millers were given permits for 600 bags to lift wheat from Nawabshah.

Millers alleged that private forces were deployed at about more than a dozen check-posts on more than 300 miles stretch of Super Highway from Nawabshah who extorted about Rs15 million everyday from them.

Wheat is now being allowed free movement within Sindh province but the open market prices remain high as millers said that rural brokers were controlling private wheat storages in the interior Sindh.

Now the federal government has decided in principle to peg domestic wheat price with international price particularly with those prevailing in neighbouring countries. Market analysts suggest consumers to get ready to pay Rs35 plus for a kilogram of wheat in coming months.