Flour Prices Surge for the Third Time in a Week in Peshawar, taking the price of a 20-kilogram bag to Rs 2200. Flour dealers stated that after this increase, the price of mixed flour reached Rs 2100 in Peshawar.
The dealers further mentioned that the price of a 20-kilogram bag of flour has risen by Rs 500 within one week. On July 1, the price of a 20-kilogram bag increased by Rs 200, while the price of an 80-kilogram bag surged by Rs 1000 in the provincial capital.
Prior to the recent hike, the price of a 20-kilogram bag had already reached Rs 2000 after an increase of Rs 200, with mixed flour bags rising from Rs 1700 to Rs 1900.
In response to these escalating prices, the Peshawar High Court reprimanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) food minister and secretary for the skyrocketing wheat flour prices in the province. Additionally, the Punjab government issued a notification to curb the smuggling of wheat to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sources from the Flour Mills Association revealed that the KP government is purchasing wheat at Rs 3,900 per maund, while it is being sold between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,000 per maund in the open market in Punjab.
The dramatic rise in flour prices highlights significant challenges within the supply chain and underscores the need for regulatory intervention to stabilize the market and protect consumers from further price surges. The KP government’s efforts to procure wheat at higher prices compared to the open market rates in Punjab reflect the complexity of the issue, necessitating coordinated measures across provincial borders to ensure fair pricing and availability of essential commodities like flour.
