KP flour millers warn of flour crisis amid wheat supply disruption from Punjab

Flour millers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday warned of a possible flour shortage in the province and urged authorities to restore wheat supply from Punjab.

Chairman of the Flour Mills Association District Charsadda, Murshid Ali Khan Advocate, said the province was facing a serious wheat shortage because of what he described as an unofficial suspension of wheat transportation from Punjab.

Speaking to media, he said no formal notification had been issued regarding restrictions on interprovincial wheat movement, but trucks carrying wheat were still being stopped from entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Murshid Ali argued that the restrictions violated Article 151 of the Constitution, which guarantees free trade and movement of goods between provinces.

He alleged that illegal payments were being demanded on transport routes, claiming that trucks carrying wheat were allowed entry into the province only after payment of bribes reaching up to ₨500,000 per truck.

According to the association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produces nearly 1 million metric tons of wheat annually against a provincial requirement exceeding 5.3 million metric tons, making the province heavily dependent on wheat supplies from Punjab.

The association said wheat supply disruptions from Punjab had continued for nearly one and a half years, creating financial difficulties for flour mills across the province.

Murshid Ali said prices of a 20-kilogram flour bag in Punjab ranged between ₨1,700 and ₨1,900, while the same bag was being sold for as much as ₨2,500 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He warned that flour prices could exceed ₨3,000 per bag if the situation persisted.

The flour millers appealed to federal and provincial authorities to intervene immediately, saying the issue was linked not only to the flour industry but also to food security for low-income households in the province.