ISLAMABAD: Ministry of National Food Security and Research in collaboration with provincial governments was working to form a mechanism to bring down the prices of flour to affordable prices, besides keeping the demand and supply of the commodity at smooth level in local markets across the country.
The government was also taking measures for ensuring uninterrupted supply of wheat to flour mills across the country and strengthening vigilance to discourage smuggling, hoarding and extra profiteering, said Dr Imtiaz Ali Gopang, Food Security Commissioner in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
Talking to reporter here on Monday, he attributed the recent price hike of flour in local markets to increase in minimum support price of wheat from Rs1,800 per 40 kg to Rs 2,200 per 40 kg, besides the public sector’s decision to stop releasing grains from its official stocks to local millers on controlled rates as the procurement campaign for current season was in progress.
He said that the government was also providing wheat to flour mills on subsidized rates in order to provide cheap flour during holy month, adding that during the procurement season releases from the public sector had stopped which was also another factor of price differential in local markets.
However, he said that the government was working to form a mechanism to release wheat for local flour mills on subsidizes rates to ensure provision of flour on affordable prices, besides keeping the supply at smooth level across the local markets in the country.
He further informed that wheat stocks in the country during first week of current month (May) was recorded at 7.853 million tons as against the reserves of 4.866 million tons of the corresponding month of last year.
Meanwhile, local wheat procurement reached to 5.990 million tons as against the procurement of 5.810 million tons of same period of last year, he said adding that carry forward stocks of grains in the country stood at 1.845 million tons as compared to the stocks of 731,033 tons of same period last year.
Food Security Commissioner said that Punjab had procured over 4.055 million tons of wheat during current grains procurement season as it achieved 101.38% of its assigned targets, Sindh procured 719,782 metric tons and Balochistan 15,287 metric tons respectively.
“Meanwhile, Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporations had procured about 1.2 million tons of wheat,” he said adding that wheat procurement targets were fixed at 6.900 million tons in order to fulfill the domestic requirements as well as for keeping the strategic reserves.