ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: The Federal Food Committee (FFC) has expressed concerns over continuing high flour prices in Sindh and the NWFP despite increased supplies to mills after the government decision to import cheaper red wheat instead of the white variety.

The price of red wheat is around $460 a ton in the international market, which is $200 less than that of white wheat, FFC Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Farooq Ahmed Khan said while briefing newsmen on the flour situation on Thursday.

The government has tested the red wheat and found it to be as healthy as the white variety. Millers are required to keep the flour white by sifting out 17 to 20 per cent of the bran instead of 15 per cent in case of white wheat.

In Karachi and some other places in Sindh, the FFC found that flour was still selling ar more than Rs20 a kg and there were no signs of any decline in the price. The ex-mill flour price in the province is Rs340 per 20kg compared with Rs285 in Punjab. In the NWFP, the ex-mill price of a 20kg bag is about Rs300.

The FFC has asked the provincial government to take measures to improve the situation.

According to the FFC, consumers in Peshawar are getting flour at a little more than Rs22 a kg, while in Dera Ismail Khan and Abbotabad, the price was over Rs25.

The FFC also decided to grant wheat quota to unregistered mills in Karachi if they promised to sell flour at the rate fixed by the government.

There are about 300 unregistered chakkis in Karachi and they could help bring down the price down at a time when some 70 odd mills were not grinding wheat to their capacity.

The FFC chairman admitted that prices were still quite high and he was not in a position to claim that the crisis had been brought under control. However, he asserted that the situation had improved a lot.

The committee also asked the NWFP government to maintain wheat stocks equivalent to 15 days of quota for mills.

Provinces have also been asked to take strict action against hoarders and cancel licences of flour mills if they continued to violate rules.

The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has been directed to ensure storage facilities in the NWFP and Balochistan.

The FFC proposed that wheat consumption in poultry feeds should be reduced. At present, about a million tons of wheat is used annually in poultry feed.

Provinces should also provide details to the FFC of private stocks exceeding 20,000 flour sacks of 20kg. The FFC directed mills to lift within 24 hours the remaining quantity of their quota which otherwise would be given to other mills. The committee also increased daily wheat releases to mills from government warehouses from 34,100 tons to 42,000 tons.