The wholesalers and retailers of flour increased Rs 40 per bag weighting 20/kg in wake increases prices of wheat. In a visit to local market on Tuesday, the special flour 20-kg bag is being sold at Rs 670 against the previous rate of Rs 630. Similarly, the fine flour bag is available at Rs 690 with increase of Rs 40.
The wheat support prices was increased at Rs 1200 per 40/kg from Rs 1050 by the Economic Co-ordination Committee in its emergency meeting held last week in Islamabad chaired by Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh. After increase in wheat support prices, the price of flour bag weighting 20-kg was exceeded at Rs 800. If the prices were determined in same ratio, then flour bag of 20-kg may also increase at Rs 830 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with effects of new prices.
While the sac of 85-kg flour, which is now available at Rs 3200, may also sale out at Rs 3,350 with Rs 150 increase per sac. The flour dealer, Sadaqat Khan said that a great impact will come after the government decision of increase in wheat support prices. Unfortunately, he said the official quota of wheat allocated for the flour mills, had not entirely been supplied to local market, but being smuggling to neighbouring Afghanistan.
Khan informed that local flour mills had supplied a flour sac weighting of 49-kg to Jalalabad and Kabul, which was causing huge effects on increase of wheat prices to KP and non-availability of sufficient stock at the local market.
