The Food Department in Faisalabad has slashed the supply of the government’s wheat quota to flour mills, that may not only cause jack up flour prices but also a shortage in the open market.
The Food Department was providing a government quota of 35 bags of wheat per body on a daily basis to 48 flour mills to ensure the availability of cheap and government-priced flour to the citizens. This has been reduced from 35 to 11 bags per body which caused problems in the supply of flour bags to the flour mills as per the demand in the open market.
After the stoppage supplying government wheat quota, the supply has been severely affected in proportion to the demand for flour in the district and citizens are forced to go to the shops for 20 kg bags of flour. According to sources, the current price of wheat in the open market is Rs2,300 per 40 kg, while the price of government wheat is Rs 1,800 per 40 kg. In this situation, if the flour mill owners buy wheat from the open market. On the other hand, if the flour mill owners do not prepare flour by buying expensive wheat from the open market, there is a fear of a flour crisis in Faisalabad and its environs. According to sources, the owners of flour mills also stopped the supply of 20 kg bags of flour in the open market due to the closure of government wheat quota by the Food Department, Faisalabad. As a result, the availability of flour in the open market has become a major problem for the district administration. During Ramazan, the Punjab government has subsidized flour bags in cheap Ramadan bazaars, but there are long queues for flour. Therefore, the majority of consumers turn to the open market instead of Ramazan bazaars to buy 20 kg bags of flour, but consumers are worried about the shortage of flour bags in the open market.
In this regard, Faisalabad Flour Mills Association Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq said that the food department has shut down the wheat quota without any notice. This will not only create a crisis of flour and wheat but also make it impossible for the citizens to provide two meals a day during the holy month. The food department should restore the official wheat quota till the new crop of wheat comes in the market, otherwise they will be responsible for the flour crisis. In this regard, the district officials have clarified that the quota of flour mills has been closed due to shortage of wheat. A new wheat crop is expected to come in the market from next week after which the situation will improve. Closing the quota can cause problems for a few days.
