Govt accedes to millers’ plea for wheat price cut

The Punjab government finally capitulated to the demand of flour millers to reduce wheat release price by Rs 15 per maund fixing it at Rs 545 on Wednesday.

This reduction in wheat release price will put an extra burden of Rs 140 million on the Punjab government. Now the Punjab government will be giving Rs 1.62 billion subsidy on flour only during Ramazan. The chief secretary sent the summary for the chief minister seeking his approval to this effect.

Earlier on the day a meeting, with Additional Chief Secretary Javed Aslam in the chair, was held at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, which was attended by new Food Secretary Irfan Elahi and Director Food Waseem Mukthar. Former Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) chairman Bilal Asalm Sufi led the millers' delegation at the meeting. The delegation included Mian Mujahid Khursheed, Liaquat Ali Khan and former vice PFMA chairman Asim.

Sources privy to the meeting said the PFMA representatives, who are not the elected members of its executive committee, requested the government to resolve the issue. They suggested that instead of waiting for the outcome of a charted accountant firm's calculations and audit, they should settle the dispute on their own. It seemed that the Association did not like the role of the CA Firm for calculations and audit to determine the prices of flour, grinding charges and wheat release prices.

The PFMA delegation also submitted their calculations to the nominated charted accountant firm. The PFMA representatives claimed that the flour had been costing them Rs 340 per 20 kilogram but they wanted to cooperate with the Punjab government.

Interestingly, the PFMA delegation showed their ignorance about the grinding charges of Rs 130 per 100 kilogram wheat decided between the Punjab government and the Association when the wheat price was fixed at Rs 625 a maund and flour price at Rs 365 per 20 kilogram.

The PFMA delegation demanded that the Punjab government start wheat release at Rs 545 per maund from that day to enable them to ensure the smooth supply of flour at Rs 300 per 20 kilogram.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Food Department supplied 70,000 flour bags of 20 kilogram each to the Lahore markets from eleven districts of the province to ensure the flour availability in the City. A Food Department official claimed that 100,000 flour bags of 20 kilogram each had been supplied from Lahore and Sheikhupura markets.