Provincial Minister for Food, Shuja Salim Khan has assured flour mills of NWFP regarding measures for lifting ban on inter-provincial and inter-district movement of wheat to enable the industry to take sigh of relief. Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) NWFP chapter, he assured resolution of problems faced by flour mills in the province on priority basis.
The delegation comprised of Chairman PFMA Mohammad Akbar Khan, Mohammad Naeem Butt, Mohammad Sadiq, Malik Iftikhar and other stakeholders of the flour milling industry. The provincial minister added that the government would support any step initiated in protecting the interest of the people and flour milling industry of the province. He criticised the provincial government of Punjab for imposition of ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat.
He assured the delegation that the government of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) will take positive steps to compensate the affected flour mills of the province. Earlier, Chairman PFMA NWFP Mohammad Akbar Khan briefed the food minister on the negative impact of the imported substandard wheat to the flour mills and their huge financial losses.
He said that the import of substandard wheat had inflicted losses worth million of rupees on the flour milling industry adding that the lack of exit of commodity had deprived them of available market in Afghanistan. He said that other countries are providing quality flour to Afghanistan resulting in the rejection of Pakistani flour by the people of Afghanistan.
He said that due to provision of substandard flour Afghans owe million of rupees against Pakistan traders. They also registered protest against the officials of the Department of Food and demanded restrictions on their raids on the flour mills. The provincial minister assured all possible co-operation to the flour mills in this regard.