Sindh government has been supplying 2,40,000 tonnes wheat to the flour mills in the province on a monthly basis since October 15 this year to keep the ex-mill price of the essential food commodity as low as Rs 55 per kilogram.
This was stated by Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, and Sindh Food and Excise & Taxation Minister, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, while jointly addressing a press conference here at the Sindh Assembly building on Saturday. Central Chairman of All Pakistan Flour Mills’ Association, Muhammad Yousuf Chaudhry, was also present on the occasion.
Sindh Food Minister informed media persons on the occasion said that since October 15, 2021 flour mills of the province were being with wheat on a daily basis in accordance with their demand.
He said the Central Chairman of the Flour Mills’ Association were present and would corroborate this fact.
He said that up to 50 per cent of the wheat supply went to the flour mills in Karachi and rest to the mills in other districts of Sindh while 100,000 tonnes of wheat to flour grinding units (chakki) in the province.
He said that there was no crisis of wheat flour availability anywhere in the province from Karachi to Kashmore as Fine Atta was available at as low rate as Rs 55 per kg.
The Food Minister said the commissioners and deputy commissioners had been tasked with the responsibility to supervise dispatching of the wheat flour trucks from the mills for the availability of the essential food commodity in all areas of Sindh.
He told media persons that wheat production in Punjab accounted for up to 70 per cent of wheat flour consumption in the country while rest of the 30 per cent production took place in rest of the provinces.
Chawla said that Sindh government in the last year had procured 1.2 million tonnes wheat as it was made sure that the wheat stocks should remain available to the flour mills at the subsidised rates till the last month in order to control the flour prices.
Sindh Information and Labour Minister said on the occasion that present ineligible and incompetent rulers in the centre had been responsible for unprecedented surge in the prices of the essential food commodities in the country.
He said the prices of items of daily use had to be increased when the US Dollar exchange rate increased to Rs 175, petrol price had been shot up to Rs 146 per litre, while there was also unprecedented hike in the gas and electricity tariff in the country.
He said the incompetency of the present rulers could be gauged from the fact that one of the relevant federal ministers stated on the floor of the National Assembly that he had no idea as where had gone 6.6 million tonnes of wheat from Punjab.
He said the Prime Minister was also earlier briefed that sugar prices had increased in the country as three sugar mills of the province had stopped crushing.
He recalled that the former special assistant to prime minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar earlier also had unduly blamed the Sindh government for natural gas crisis in the country.
Saeed Ghani said the present federal government had failed to manage the governance issues in the country. He said the leaders of the ruling PTI had unduly claimed that wheat flour at cheaper rates was available in Punjab as compared to the wheat prices in Sindh. He said the wheat flour available at cheaper cost in Punjab was not fit for human consumption.
He said the Sindh government had set the wheat procurement price at Rs 2200 for every 40 kg of the essential commodity in order to serve the growers in the province when the federal government has determined the same price at Rs 1800.