Flour price jumps to Rs 65-70 per kg in Sindh

Flour price jumps to Rs 65-70 per kg in Sindh, intensifying the wheat crisis in the province.

According to Chairman Flour Mills Association Sindh Khalid Masood, despite the directive of the federation, the Sindh Food Department is not releasing wheat, due to which flour mills are forced to buy wheat from the open market.

Khalid Masood further added said flour mills in Karachi need 70,000 sacks of wheat daily but the prices of wheat and flour continue to rise due to the non-availability of wheat from the provincial government.

The price of wheat has gone up to Rs 52 per kg in the open market, which was Rs 35-36 per kg last year.

Earlier in July, the federal government had asked the Sindh government to immediately announce the Wheat Release Policy to flour mills. Furthermore, it warned that if the Sindh government commits any delay in announcing its Wheat Release Policy, wheat and flour prices would escalate further.

Read More : Flour prices increase to Rs 70 per kg

In a letter addressed to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ai Shah, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam directed the four provincial governments to immediately announce Wheat Release Policy 2020-21.

Referring to his DO (Demi Official) letter dated July 15, 2020, and ECC meeting that was held on June 22, 2020, wherein it was decided that all provinces will be made bound to announce their Wheat Release Policies 2020-21, Syed Fakhar Imam said in the letter that government of Punjab announced its Wheat Release Policy on July 2, 2020 and started to release wheat to the flour mills consequently resulting in stabilisation of prices in Punjab.