LAHORE:The retail rates for wheat flour increases from Friday (today) to record Rs2,100 per 20-kg, Rs1,050 per10-kg bag, and a 15-kg bag has been fixed at Rs1,650.
The announcement aligns the flour price levels to rising wheat rates in the open market, said Haji Yousuf, President of the Lahore Atta Dealers Association on Thursday. Yousuf said the upward price revision was unavoidable because wheat is now trading at Rs4,000 per maund (40-kg) in the open market in provincial metropolitan against the officer indicative price of Rs3,500 per 40kg. “When wheat price on the rise, flour cannot stay at old rates as milling, packing, logistic and retail costs have to be added,” he said.
“If wheat rate rises further, the flour price is going to increase further, he warned.The new flour rates reflect a sharp jump from previous official prices. The 10-kg bag is up Rs145 or 16.0 percent from the last notified rate of Rs905. The 20-kg bag has increased Rs290 or 16.0 percent from Rs1,810.
Today’s announcement follows weeks of tension between the flour milling industry and the Food Directorate. Officials had initially ordered mills to sell 10-kg and 20-kg bags at old rates. Lahore mills were briefly restricted to 15-kg bags only, and show-cause notices were issued to brands selling at market-linked prices.
On May 5, the Director General accepted retail rates of Rs1,040 for 10-kg and Rs2,050 for 20-kg, settling the impasse. District administrations were then told to close inspections for price violations. The latest price revision comes amid a broader wheat deficit in the province. Production is estimated down by at least 10 percent due to rain damage at harvest and low and imbalance use of fertilisers. The squeezed supplies and crackdown of Food Directorate has curtailed flour supply to mills, causing its price hike, said market insiders. Following arrival of fresh wheat at much higher rates, the shift of notified flour rate to market-based pricing virtually ends controlled-rate system and aligns market to open market-tied grains.
Dealers confirmed that supplies of all pack sizes have resumed at the new rates. However, they warned that stability depends on wheat arrival and prices. Any further rise in grain prices will pass directly to consumers, as margins are already thin. For now, the settlement ensures availability but confirms that households will bear the full impact of the wheat price surge.
