Punjab needs 1 million tons of wheat to control flour price

LAHORE (92 News) - After completion of the wheat procurement, the Punjab is needed about a million tons of wheat in its stock to control the price of flour.

According to the sources, the food department has procured 3.8 million tons of wheat this year while the private sector has procured 1.5 million tons of wheat. However, Punjab needs another 1 million tons of wheat to control the price of flour.

Officials of the Flour Mills Association said that if the government did not import wheat in time, there could be a problem of shortage and price of flour. The price of wheat in the open market is high, which can add up to Rs100 per 20kg bag of flour.

The Flour Mills Association further said that the increase in turnover tax by the government would also increase the price of flour. The sources also said that the wheat smuggling from Punjab is also feared due to high prices in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

District food controller Umair Sagheer said that if wheat is not smuggled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there will be no flour problem in Punjab and the Punjab government is going to start convenience points at specific shops soon to supply subsidized flour.