The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has warned that the flour supply situation could deteriorate due to rising wheat prices in the open market, a decline in the availability of flour at government-set rates, and unequal distribution policies and alleged corruption within the Punjab Food Department.
These concerns were raised at an extraordinary meeting of the PFMA Executive Committee, which was attended by elected representatives, office-bearers, and a large number of flour mill owners from across Punjab.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, PFMA Group Leader Asim Raza Ahmed, Punjab Chairman Riazullah Khan, Mian Riaz, and others said that wheat prices are continuously rising due to reduced supply in the open market, while the availability of flour at official rates has almost come to an end.
They said that most flour mills rely on wheat supplied by the Food Department, which is being provided to only a limited number of mills. As a result, other mills have been forced to depend on expensive wheat from the open market.
According to the Association, this disparity has made it practically impossible for many mills to supply flour at government prices, thereby eliminating fair competition within the sector.
Mill owners also expressed concern over restrictions on inter-provincial and inter-district movement of wheat and flour through the permit system, calling it discriminatory, inconsistent, and harmful to the supply chain. They further alleged that corruption within the Punjab Food Department has reached alarming levels and that all previous records of corruption have been surpassed.
