Flour rates in Punjab jump by up to Rs210 per bag on high wheat prices

A 10kg flour bag is now available for Rs660, up from Rs550; and a 20kg now costs Rs1,310, up from Rs1,100.

By Staff Reporter

LAHORE: Millers in Punjab had increased local flour prices by Rs11 per kilo after the provincial government had stopped releasing wheat on official low rates, industry official said on Saturday.

Millers are buying wheat from open market at around 22 percent higher rate following an increase in support price for the current harvest season. The government had increased wheat support prices to Rs2,200 per maund from Rs1,800 maund.

A 10kg flour bag is now available for Rs660 from an earlier price of Rs550. Similarly, 20kg will now cost buyer Rs1,310 from Rs1,100.

Millers said after the closure of the official wheat quota in Punjab, the retail price of wheat in the open market has gone up.

For the last many months, the food department had been providing wheat at a release price of Rs1,950 per 40kg. During Ramazan, it was pushed down to Rs1,600 per 40kg for the first 20 days – and 10kg bag was selling at Rs450. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif soon after taking oath further brought down flour prices. The Punjab Food Department has bought more than four million tons wheat this season.

The government on Saturday also ended the Ramazan Package at the Utility Stores Corporation. The price of pulses was increased by Rs10 per kg and cooking oil of various brands up to Rs20 per liter, as per a notification.

The corporation says the government will now subsidise five items instead of 19 items. Sugar will be available at Rs70 per kg, flour 10kg bag at Rs400 and ghee at Rs260 per kg. Rice and pulses will also be subsidised.

The price of poultry meat has hit the roof in Punjab while its supply is also short, causing over-pricing to record Rs500 per kilogram at many places.

The official price of chicken meat stood at record breaking Rs473 per kg. However, consumers complained that it is being supplied as per demand and traders have jacked up its price to Rs500 per kg.

Earlier, in early March, the price of chicken meat reached Rs407 per kilogram. At that time, in just a span of a week, the chicken meat price jumped by around Rs70 per kg — from Rs334 per kilogram to Rs407.

According to an office-bearer of Pakistan Poultry Association, increase in poultry meat price was primarily a seasonal demand-supply phenomenon. Since the poultry meat is a perishable product so the supply could not be altered in a short span to manipulate the market, the official said.