Flour price in the local market showing upward trend with every passing day following the failure of Sindh Food Department to accomplish its annual wheat procurement target.
The situation further aggravated by ban imposed by Punjab on inter-provincial movement of wheat and an increase announced of Rs 16 per 40 kg.
Retailers in Urban Sindh are now demanding Rs 14 to Rs 15 per kg for quality chakki flour. While the off Chakki rate also swell to Rs 13 per kg. The shopkeepers are forecasting further increase in coming months.
The food department plan to stabilise price structure was completely fizzled out when the wheat imported from Australia was found unfit for human consumption and the whole shipment was rejected.
The only option remains with food department to accomplish their wheat procurement plan. But by the time the line up their procurement teams around 0.503 million metric tonnes out of total production of over 0.867 metric tonnes of Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad regions found its way to open market as the grain traders and millers paid the asking price to growers in cash.
Similarly, by late March and mid of April sufficient quantity of Sukkur and Larkana regions have also found its way to open market out of total production of over 1.241 million metric tonnes
According to food department sources, the department so far had procured slightly over 0.2 million metric tonnes of wheat despite raids on private godowns of traders on the charges of hoarding and forfeiture of wheat on roads even wheat transported by a registered seed company for procession has been impounded.
These sources maintained that in view of the poor procurement the whole process of procurement should be re-evaluated immediately before it is too late.