Non-release of wheat quota to mills

MANSEHRA: The price of 20-kilogram flour bag has jumped to Rs1000 from Rs900 in the local market as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is yet to release wheat quota to flour mills at a subsidised rate.

The local flour mills have suspended grinding of wheat since Punjab government started supplying quota to its flour mills at a subsidised price some two months ago.The flour price increased from Rs5 per kg to Rs6 per kg and traders are expecting a shortage of the commodity in the market if the Punjab government imposed an inter-provincial ban on its transportation. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Department has fixed a quota of 1,000 bags of 100 kg for the Mansehra district but it could not be released so far this year. “If the government starts releasing quota of wheat grain to local flour mills the price of flour would decrease from Rs4 to Rs5 per kg in markets,” said a local dealer Mohammad Javed. When contacted, owner of a local flour mills Malik Muzaffar said that out of total 12 flour mills in the district, half had already been shut down for various reasons. “We have been waiting for the release of our daily quota of wheat and are currently grinding wheat transported from Punjab at a higher price,” he said. He said the price of wheat flour could only be stabilized once the government started releasing the quota.