K-P blames Punjab’s transport curbs for flour shortage, price hike across province
PESHAWAR:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi has directed the provincial government to write a formal letter to the Punjab government, demanding the free movement of wheat and flour across provincial borders.
Chairing a meeting of the Food Department at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that stopping the transportation of wheat and flour is a violation of the Constitution. He criticized the Punjab government, saying that under the guise of political differences, it is depriving the people of K-P of their basic rights.
Afridi instructed the Food Department to take effective measures to curb hoarding and ensure the availability of essential commodities at officially fixed prices. He also ordered the immediate registration of all warehouses across the province.
During the briefing, the Chief Minister was informed that K-P’s annual wheat and flour consumption stands at around 5.3 million metric tons, of which only 1.5 million metric tons are produced locally. The remaining demand is met through supplies from Punjab and other provinces. Currently, about 273,000 metric tons of wheat are stored in provincial warehouses.
Officials further informed that the recent increase in flour prices is mainly due to restrictions on the transportation of wheat and flour from Punjab. Regarding sugar, the meeting was told that the province’s annual demand is around one million tons, 30 per cent for domestic and 70 per cent for commercial use, while 480,000 metric tons of sugar are presently available in stock.
It may be recalled that earlier this month, the price of a 20-kilogram flour bag surged by Rs400 in Peshawar, with fine flour now selling between Rs2,500 and Rs2,900. Within just one week, flour prices have risen by up to Rs550, sparking fears of an intensifying flour crisis in the province alongside the ongoing political turmoil.
According to market sources, the price of special flour climbed from Rs2,400 to Rs2,500, while chakki flour is being sold at Rs150 per kilogram. An artificial shortage of flour in the city has driven demand sharply upward. Following the announcement of a strike by nanbais (bread makers) from October 16, citizens have begun purchasing flour in large quantities, further straining supply.
The suspension of wheat and flour supply from Punjab has worsened the situation, with provincial stocks nearing depletion. Dealers have reportedly started selling old stocks at new, inflated prices. Along with flour, prices of semolina (sooji) and refined flour (maida) have also increased.
The People’s Trade Forum staged a protest rally in Peshawar against the Punjab government’s ban on the transportation of flour to K-P. The rally, led by former secretary Shahid Khan, began on Ashraf Road and concluded at GT Road.
Addressing the protesters, speakers accused Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz of playing the “Punjab card” and urged her to end what they called a “revenge-driven” restriction on flour supply to K-P.
They claimed that the ban had already created a flour crisis in the province, adding that the Punjab government had failed to manage the situation.
