Following the fixing of low wheat prices by Punjab government against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the chairman, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Standing Committee on flour mill and the chamber vice president, Malik Iftikhar Awan demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to revise prices of wheat recently fixed at Rs 1,100 per 40 kg bag.
In a joint statement issued here by the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the committee chairman and vice president Malik Iftikhar Awan and Anees Ashraf said that the provincial government should also fix price of wheat at Rs 1,050 per 40 kg bag, as Punjab government recently announced low prices at Rs 1,075 per 40 kg bag as compared to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Malik Iftikhar, who was also served as Chairman All Pakistan Flour Mill Association (APFMA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had fixed wheat price at Rs 1,100 per 40 kg bag, which could bring detrimental impacts on the flour industry in the province. He viewed the flour mill industry has already suffered colossal losses in the prevailing situation, while the step would further push the industry towards huge financial and operational crisis.
The committee chairman said the flour mill industry is hardly kept operational maximum two hours under the present allocated quota, demanding for further increase in it. He urged the provincial government to revise the wheat prices from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,050 per 40 kg bag. "The Chamber and Flour Mill Association should also consult before determining prices of wheat in province", he demanded. He expressed fear that if the government was retained high prices of wheat, then the flour mill industry could not keep operational in full swing, which was ultimately generated huge unemployment in the province.