Flour crisis may deepen in Pakistan as govt, millers lock horns over movement of wheat

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The controversy between the provincial government and the flour millers over the shunting of wheat to Karachi from interior parts of the province may further increase the price of flour in the metropolis in the coming days as the food department continued its action against unauthorised movement of wheat, it emerged on Friday.

While the millers feared a wheat and flour crisis in the city due to restrictions on movement of wheat to Karachi, Food Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the action was launched to defeat hoarding across the province, ensuring no flour miller got the commodity more than the official quota of 6,000 bags of 100kg per month.

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

The millers said that the seizure of wheat trucks arriving from interior parts of the Sindh might result in increase in the price of flour that was already selling at Rs140-160 per kg in the city. They alleged that the wheat was being seized since March 1.

Food Minister Chawala told Dawn that the procurement of wheat was in full swing and the restriction on the movement of wheat in the province was imposed to foil hoarding of the commodity.

He said that the flour millers had stowed away a sizeable quantity of wheat last year.

“Some of the miller had stocked up to 200,000 bags of 100kg and later sold wheat in the open market at higher prices,” he said, adding that the food department had chalked out an ‘effective’ strategy to thwart any attempt of hoarding.

The minister said that he had established check posts at the provincial borders and some other places to check the irregular movement of wheat.

The flour millers, however, alleged that the officials at the checkpoints openly extorted money ranging from Rs75,000-100,000 per vehicle to allow transportation of wheat to Karachi.

They alleged that the provincial government forcefully impounding truckloads of wheat and shifting it to its warehouses to achieve its wheat procurement targets.

The sources in the food department said that the action against the movement of wheat was launched on March 25. They said that earlier 200 to 300 trucks of wheat were arriving Karachi. They said that the flour millers were given whole of the last week for bringing wheat to Karachi as per their quota.

They said that the restriction of the movement of wheat would continue till the procurement target was not achieved.

The flour millers said that the food secretary of Sindh had assured them that the checkpoints set up by the food department at Kathore and Matiari were to be abolished but they were still operating.

They said that a vast cost difference existed in wheat as the grain within the province was available at Rs10,200 per 100kg bag while in Karachi, it was being sold at Rs11,700 per 100kg bag.

The millers said Karachi was facing a shortage of wheat.

They said that if the situation remained same and checkpoints were not removed, flour prices would shoot up massively in the city, and urged the provincial government to ensure free wheat movement to Karachi.

Wheat harvesting has started within parts of the country and wheat yield results are clear that they could not meet overall grain requirement for 2023-2024.

Flour millers urged the government to allow Karachi millers to directly import 50 per cent of earmarked imported wheat quantity privately.

Wheat output level in the country has reduced due to weather conditions, floods, torrential rains and hail storms, millers said, adding that reducing the total output level, the overall wheat yield/availability within the country is not satisfactory to meet the local requirement in 2023 and 2024.

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.

Despite huge imports and availability of local crop, consumers are still paying Rs2,315-3,160 for a 20kg flour bag as compared to Rs800-1,500 exactly a year back. (DAWN)