Price of 20kg flour bag tops Rs2,100 in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The price of a 20-kilogram bag of flour has reached Rs2100 or more, which is the highest ever rate being charged for the

staple food.

Only just over a year ago the same bag of flour coming from mills in Punjab was being sold for around Rs800. Its price jumped to over Rs1,000 and is increasing day by day.

“A local dealer gets a 20 kg bag of flour coming from mills in Punjab at around Rs2,070. In the market, the retailers have no option but to sell it for Rs2100 or even more,” Haji Amin, a trader near Peshawar Saddar told The News.

He added the mills in Punjab increased the rate of 20 kg bags by Rs100 on Monday while the same was done last week too.

The dealer continued that trucks were being forced to pay extra illegal tax while entering KP from Punjab.

“The same political party is ruling both the provinces so there should be no disparity between the people of Punjab and KP in getting flour or any facilities,” he added.

The public is concerned at the increasing rate of the flour since it is being used by each and every family to cook bread, the cheapest item a poor can provide to feed his children.

Prices of almost all the food items, medicines and other commodities have increased over the past couple of years with no measures taken by the government and its departments to bring them down.

In KP, the government is providing local flour at subsidized rates at different shops and through trucks in many village councils. However, the demand for the flour coming from Punjab is still high.

Majority of the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prefer the flour coming from Punjab instead of the local mills because of its quality.

Also, getting a bag of flour is not an easy task when trucks of local flour mills arrive in any area.

Brawls often take place when the people strive to get hold of a bag of flour after a truck arrives in an area with subsidized flour.

Reports said a couple of people were wounded when they attacked each other with bricks during distribution of flour from a truck on Ring Road the other day.

On the other hand, the flour dealers say there are many restrictions by the authorities in Punjab and not every vehicle carrying flour is allowed to enter KP.

The president of the local chapter of flour dealers, Ghazanfar Ali, demanded that there should be no restriction on movement of flour between the two provinces while the number of permits to mills to supply flour to KP should be increased. He criticised the federal government, saying even in the past the same happened to KP when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came into power.

Despite charging high, some dealers are also selling substandard flour in many areas.

“There is no check from the departments concerned nor does there seem any government to provide flour of the same quality and at the same price in all the provinces,” said many locals.