PESHAWAR: Flour prices have increased once again in various cities across the country, including Peshawar and Quetta, further worsening the challenges faced by people grappling with inflation.
In Peshawar, the price of a 20 kg bag of flour has risen by Rs 200, bringing the total cost to Rs 2,650. Additionally, in the retail market, flour is now being sold for Rs 140 per kg, an increase of Rs 10.
Dealers attribute the price hike to a ban on the supply of flour from Punjab to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has disrupted the balance of supply and demand. To address and stabilise flour prices, a proposal to begin supplying wheat to flour mills from government warehouses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be presented at the next provincial cabinet meeting, although a final decision has yet to be made.
Meanwhile, in Quetta, flour prices have also seen a significant spike, with a 20 kg bag rising by Rs 200 to reach Rs 2,500. A 50 kg bag has increased by Rs 500, now costing Rs 6,250. Flour dealers indicate that government reserves are nearly depleted and that transportation of wheat has been restricted due to district closures imposed by the Punjab government, making the price increase unavoidable.
According to the Balochistan Food Department, the private sector has been mandated to purchase wheat, but additional measures are required to control the situation.
Read also: KP flour dealers to block trucks if Punjab cuts flour supply
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Flour Dealers Association issued a very strong warning to both Punjab authorities and transporters, saying that they would stop the trucks carrying minerals from KP to Punjab as a retaliation for the cutting off of flour supplies from Punjab.
At a press conference held in Nowshera, the General Secretary of KP Flour Dealers Association Haji Akram Shah was surrounded by Haji Majidullah and Adalat Khan, local dealers, and he stated that the association would not be patient with the pressure and that they would take direct action if the disruption of supply continues.
The representatives of the association were very vocal about their position, and Haji Akram Shah said, “The Punjab government has gone too far in its unfairness, cutting off flour supplies to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”. He further said that the matter was not only about flour the supply of choker feed for the animals has also been limited, making the situation worse for farmers and families.
The association has made a demand to the provincial government to allow the wheat stocks lying idle in the grain warehouses of KP to be used for flour milling to avoid waste and spoilage. They warned that the bakers and tandoors would soon go out of business and that the districts like Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda, Swat and Kohat could face acute flour shortages within days.
