Flour Prices May Fall to Rs. 110/ KG if Imported From Russia: Millers Association

Flour prices will fall to Rs. 110 per kg in Karachi and across the country if wheat is imported from Russia, far lower than Rs. 150 and above per kg currently. This was claimed by Chairman Pakistan Flour Millers Association (South Zone) Chaudhry Amir Abdullah while briefing a group of journalists associated with the Council of Economic and Energy Journalists (CEEJ). He said the wheat imported from Russia costs nearly Rs. 9,500 per ton which is considerably lower than the local wheat prices in Karachi in the range of Rs. 12,500 to 14,500 per ton. “We can export flour to different countries through importing Russian wheat because the quality of Russian wheat is higher, which is also better than what we usually import from Ukraine,” he remarked. Flour can be exported to Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, he elaborated. Wheat prices are getting out of hand in the southern region particularly in Karachi as the supplies are short which may aggravate the situation with prices in Karachi going up to Rs. 200 per kg, he warned. Amir Abdullah mentioned that 30 out of 93 flour mills in Karachi have stopped their production of flour due to the unavailability of wheat which was caused by provincial policies. He blamed the Sindh government for the brewing flour crisis as it prevented millers from buying grain from growers in upper Sindh. The government backed off from its commitment in mid-March that it would provide 5 million bags of wheat and supplied only 525,000 bags (10.5%). “Wheat shortage is being observed only in Karachi, PFMA chief said. He said the government had established check posts between upper Sindh and Karachi, where officials were allegedly taking heavy bribes to clear wheat-carrying trucks. More than 200,000 sacks of wheat – which had rotten in the government’s warehouses located in Malir and was declared unfit for human consumption – were forcibly handed over to the mill owners, he claimed. The association announced a strike for supplying flour to retailers until the provincial government does not accept their demands including the resumption of supplies of wheat and preventing officials from receiving bribes from the millers.