KARACHI (Dunya News) - The wheat and flour price crisis in Karachi shows no signs of easing, as delays in the supply of government wheat have sparked concerns over a further increase in flour prices.
Chairman of the Flour Mills Association, Abdul Junaid, said that government-supplied wheat lacks nutritional quality and is being mixed with newly harvested wheat to produce flour that has become unaffordable for the public. He added that delays by the Sindh government in supplying wheat to flour mills have already pushed flour prices higher across the city.
According to him, both wholesale and retail markets in Karachi now face the risk of further price hikes. He confirmed that the Karachi Commissioner has been formally informed about the delayed wheat supply to local flour mills.
Abdul Junaid further stated that the association has also held an important meeting with the DIG Traffic to ensure timely transportation of wheat. He warned that continuous delays in government wheat deliveries are directly contributing to rising flour prices.
Currently, old wheat is priced at Rs80 per kilogram, while newly added wheat costs around Rs110 per kilogram, making it impossible to supply cheaper flour in the wholesale market.
Meanwhile, Rauf Ibrahim, Chairman of the Wholesale Grocers Association, said the Karachi Commissioner is expected to issue a new official price list for flour within the next one or two days. However, he pointed out that in the open market, flour prices have surged from Rs55 to Rs110 per kilogram over the past four months.
He added that wheat from Sindh is being transported to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which could further increase demand. If the trend continues, open market wheat prices may rise from Rs110 to Rs125 per kilogram.
Rauf Ibrahim also warned that the price of fine flour in Karachi could climb to as high as Rs145 per kilogram, further burdening consumers already struggling with rising food costs.