Flour mills start purchasing wheat on emergency basis today

ISLAMABAD: The flour mills will start purchasing wheat from today (Monday) on an emergency basis at open market rate.

Weekly ending of open market rate of wheat was recorded at Rs2,600 in south Punjab, Rs2,700 in central Punjab and Rs2,800 per 40 kg in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Over one thousand mills will buy 30 tons of required wheat for daily grinding and stock 25 lac tons wheat required till March from open market. The flour mills will make payment for 102 kgs per bag instead of 100kg per bag during wheat purchase.

A meeting of the executive committee led by Iftikhar Ahmad Matto, Chairman of Pakistan Flours Mills Association, Punjab Branch, was held in Lahore the other day which was participated by office bearers, representatives and mill owners. The flour mills owners with majority opinion decided to purchase wheat from farmers. A unanimous resolution was approved in the meeting by adopting the method enforced in Sindh and Balochistan province and by keeping in view the poor quality of wheat. The flour mills owners will start buying 102 kgs wheat with gunny bags of Food Department and with Rs10 per bag on loading across the Punjab. The rate of wheat will be fixed on such account and full payment will be made to farmers on the spot.

While talking to The News, Iftikhar Matto said that in the past, middleman and commission agents of Food Department used to buy 102 kgs wheat from farmers and paid price of 100 kgs but the flour mill owners decided to pay price of102 kg wheat to farmers.

Hundreds of 22-wheeler trailers are parked with over two lac tons wheat outside over hundreds of provincial reserve centres in Peshawar, Izza Khel and Mardan after the announcement of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to buy wheat from Punjab at the rate Rs3,900 per 40 kg. But the KP government did not purchase of over half of the wheat claiming that the provincial kitty was short of money. This wheat, on return from KP, was sold to flour mills of Rawalpindi at the rate of Rs2,200 per 40 kg by farmers, commission agents and middlemen who got rid of it.

But the owners of 1,100 flour mills of Punjab decided to purchase wheat from farmers at the open market rate from today (June 10). Sources said this was because of the positive policies of the PMLN government of Maryam Nawaz. They said wheat was moved from south Punjab to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Talagang, Attock, Chakwal and Murree without paying extortion money.