Provinces urged to ensure wheat availability on competitive rates

KARACHI: President, Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Mian Usman Zulfiqar urged the provincial governments to make sure the flour availability in the markets on competitive rates as subsidized flour has almost disappeared from the markets amid worsening shortage of the commodity in Punjab.

Usman Zulfiqar said common man can’t afford the weekly increase in the flour prices.

In Punjab few days back the 15-kg flour price witnessed at Rs 1200. Now it is being available at Rs 1600 despite government rates are much lesser but flour is not available on the government rates.

Similarly flour is also short in the markets of Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta too with high prices which should be looked seriously.

He requested All Pakistan Flour Mills Association to ensure flour supply in Sindh and Balochistan especially in flood-hit areas on government rates so that the victims may get compensated to some how.

PBF Balochistan Chapter vice chairperson, Sana Durrani also informed that even in Quetta the prices of flour have increased including other parts of Balochistan while the commodity was not available in most shops across the province. Meanwhile, a 20-kg bag of flour was being sold from Rs 2,380 to Rs 2,500.

PBF’s Sindh Chapter chairman, Mir Murad Ali Talpur said the price of wheat surged by up to 10-20 percent on the outlook for a possible delay in sowing of the staple crop in October and doubling of the grain support price to Rs 4,000 per 40 per kg by the Sindh government for the next cultivation season.

He maintained that reserves of wheat were available in the open market to meet the local requirements but profiteers were speculating due to possible delay in the cultivation of the crop following devastating floods in the country.

Including simultaneous release of wheat from all the four provinces can ensure stability in the prices of flour and help remove panic buying, he said.

Similarly PBF chief expressed concern over the delay in opening letters of credit (LCs). The industrial production has stopped due to non-availability of parts, bank payments are not being made, operational expenses are also becoming difficult to meet, which has increased the fear of unemployment, he added.

Large firms in Pakistan rely on imported raw materials / parts, which run our industries. In this regard Finance minister and governor State Bank should take immediate notice of the situation for open Letter of Credit.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022