Wheat flour crisis deepens in Balochistan

QUETTA: The flour crisis in Balochistan has intensified despite the provincial food department having had 800,000 wheat bags in stock.

Officials revealed that no wheat was procured during March and April this year, and even the existing old stock was sold out.

As a result, the province now has no wheat reserves left. The shortage has driven up the price of a 20-kg flour bag to Rs 2,300 over the past three weeks, further adding to the public’s hardships.

After receiving approval from the provincial cabinet, the food department sold the stored wheat at throwaway prices fearing it might spoil, and cleared the warehouses — a move that caused billion of rupees loss to the department.

Earlier, The ongoing heavy rains and flooding in Punjab had triggered a sharp rise in flour prices across the country, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The PBS report, covering data up to September 5, revealed that in the past three weeks, the price of a 20-kilogram flour bag has increased by as much as Rs1,050, pushing the maximum retail price to Rs2,500 in several parts of the country.

In regional breakdowns, flour prices rose by Rs1,050 in Bannu, Rs900 in Peshawar and Larkana, Rs840 in Sukkur, Rs830 in Lahore, Rs826 in Multan, Rs817 in Gujranwala and Sialkot, Rs800 in Islamabad, and Rs740 in Rawalpindi and Quetta.

Meanwhile, Bahawalpur recorded an increase of Rs866.67 in the price of a 20-kg flour bag during the same period.