Flour prices rise to Rs180 per kg in Hyderabad

Flour prices in Hyderabad have risen to Rs168 per kilogramme in the wholesale market and Rs175 to Rs180 per kilogramme at retail outlets, according to the Atta Chakki Owners Welfare Association.

HYDERABAD: Flour prices in Hyderabad have risen to Rs168 per kilogramme in the wholesale market and Rs175 to Rs180 per kilogramme at retail outlets, according to the Atta Chakki Owners Welfare Association.

The association said flour was selling at Rs168 per kilogramme, Rs1,680 for a 10-kilogramme bag and Rs6,720 per 40-kilogramme maund.

Speaking to The News, association general secretary Najamuddin Chauhan blamed the price increase on a lack of government-supplied wheat, saying the Sindh food department was not supplying the commodity to flour mills. He said mill owners had been forced to buy wheat on the open market at higher prices.

A 100-kilogramme bag of wheat was selling for Rs14,200 on the open market, Chauhan said, compared with the Sindh government’s fixed price of Rs12,500. He added that flour mills were not receiving wheat at the government-notified rate, making it difficult to keep flour prices under control.

Wheat supplies to flour mills had also been disrupted in other cities across Sindh, Chauhan said.

He claimed flour prices had risen by as much as 70 per cent because of the shortage of government-supplied wheat and higher open-market prices. He also alleged that hoarders were selling 100-kilogramme bags of wheat for Rs14,200 or more.

Chauhan criticised the Hyderabad district administration for sealing flour mills and fining their owners over high flour prices. The draft ends before his alternative proposal or the rest of his remarks are provided.