Flour body announces strike against curbs on wheat purchase

LAHORE: The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has decided to shut wheat-grinding units in Punjab in protest against “curbs on buying of commodity, imposed by the provincial government”.

PFMA Vice Chairman Abdul Rauf Mukhtar said here Saturday that flour mills were not being allowed to buy wheat from the open market. Resultantly, he claimed, grain supply got affected and there was no wheat available with the flour mills for grinding. Hence, he added, the Flour Mills Association had decided to close all flour mills in Punjab.

The district administration and the Food Department staff were conducting raids on the mills across province without any valid reason. In such circumstances, flour millers could not continue work and thus decided to go on strike against the high-handedness of the government.

He said it was unfortunate that the mills were allowed to keep wheat stock for 72 hours requirements, but the same volume of grains were not being permitted to buy and transport to respective mills.

He said the Food Department had miserably failed to procure wheat and now grains bought by the mills was being forcibly seized. Keeping in view short supply and price-hike of wheat, millers have also jacked up flour price, he added.

Meanwhile, the Food Department, acting on the directions of Senior Punjab Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, is conducting raids in various districts of south Punjab against illegal stockists of wheat, even on holidays.

In Dera Ghazi Khan, 10,000 sacks of 100-kg wheat, 3,000 sacks of wheat in Bahawalnagar and 2,000 sacks of wheat in Layyah had been seized, while 20,000 tons of wheat had been seized in Multan district alone.

Senior and Food Minister Punjab Abdul Aleem Khan said that south Punjab, being a provincial border area, was more sensitive. The culprits try to smuggle wheat by taking advantage of storage opportunity, he said and added that the Punjab Food Department was fully alert and vigilant and would not allow anyone to stockpile wheat.

He said that there would no shortage of wheat in Punjab and the target of procurement of wheat would be met on time.

Abdul Aleem said a clear message had been sent to the wheat stockists and strict action was being taken on-the-spot which “I am personally monitoring. I am grateful for the continued support of the media in this national campaign, through whose efforts the hoarders are reaching their logical conclusion,” Abdul Aleem Khan concluded.