Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faces flour shortage as mills shut down

PESHAWAR: Mills in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) shut operations on Monday and their owners are warning that a flour crisis is looming, as grain supplies from Punjab have stopped.
“Punjab has totally banned wheat supplies to KP. The provincial food department has slashed wheat supply to only 3,000 tons daily ... It will trigger a flour crisis,” Muhammad Iqbal, chairman of the KP chapter of Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), told Arab News on Monday.
He added that in accordance with earlier interprovincial deals, Punjab should supply 12,000 tons of wheat a day to KP, which means that the province is now facing a daily shortage of 9,000 tons.
According to Punjab authorities, however, the suspension is only temporary as the province is now struggling to meet its target of 4.5 million tons, but will get back on the track in the coming days.
“The Punjab food authority has so far procured 3.8 million tons of wheat and the rest will be procured in a few days. We’ve already directed all flour mills not to keep wheat stock for more than three days. The completion of the procurement process by the government of Punjab will set the process of wheat supply in motion to other provinces, including KP, in the next three or four days,” Punjab government spokeswoman Musarrat Cheema told Arab News on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, KP mills say the situation is already affecting their operations and the livelihoods of thousands of their workers. He alleged that the government is failing to notice the issue.
“At least 120 laborers work in one flour mill and each person has a seven-member family at home. It means that mills closure leaves around 200,000 individuals affected directly,” Iqbal said, adding that 180 out of the province’s 220 mills are now shut.
“We have spent billions of rupees on flour mills and are paying millions in taxes, but in return we are pushed into a blind street,” Iqbal said.
His warnings that a flour crisis is looming have been downplayed by KP Food Secretary Nisar Ahmed, who said that everything will soon get back to normal since the harvest season has already started and Punjab’s wheat procurement is ongoing.
“How can you expect a wheat crisis at a time when wheat harvest season is underway in parts of the country? We will have a surplus stock after crops harvesting,” he said, “It is like creating unsubstantiated rumors about wheat crisis. There is no ban on wheat supply.”