LAHORE, Sep 18 (APP): The Punjab government’s two-week crackdown on hoarders has led to the recovery of around 338,000 tons of wheat, bringing significant relief to the provincial wheat and flour markets.
Talha Malik, a spokesperson for the Punjab Price Control Department, said on Thursday that wheat stocks at flour mills had risen to 1.5 million tons lately. He said the campaign against hoarders had produced visible results, stabilising supply and easing market pressures.
Dealers confirmed that the availability of wheat had improved considerably. “Wheat, previously unavailable at Rs. 4,000 per 40 kilograms earlier this month, is now selling for Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 3,200 per 40 kg,” Muhammad Aslam, a trader at Lahore’s Kahna grain market said.
The recovery drive has also lowered flour prices in the open market. “The price of a 20-kilogram bag of flour, which crossed Rs. 2,500 a fortnight ago, has now fallen to Rs. 1,800,” Hafiz Zeeshan Ghafoori, a wholesale dealer at Lahore’s LOS grain market, said. He expressed hope that strict administrative measures would help maintain stability until the arrival of the next wheat crop in April.
Alongside storage raids, the government has introduced additional steps, including a ban on wheat purchases by feed mills for animal and poultry feed.
Welcoming the government’s decision, Pakistan Flour Mills Association’s (PFMA) former chairman Iftikhar Ahmad Matto said, “The government’s decision to ban wheat for feed mills is a wise move. Wheat has always been a staple for humans, not for animals.”
He explained that feed millers had been turning to wheat because of a sharp price gap with maize. “Wheat is available at Rs. 3,000 per 40 kilograms, while maize prices have surged to Rs. 4,000 per 40 kilograms because of poor harvest,” he said, adding that this diversion to feed mills had reduced wheat stocks in the open market and pushed up prices.
