Punjab govt bars flour mills from selling, transferring declared wheat stocks 

The Punjab Food Directorate has frozen private wheat stocks already declared by flour mills on the official portal after the provincial government failed to meet its wheat procurement target, The News reported. 

The order bars mills from selling, transferring or using the declared stock until further instructions are issued. The restriction applies only to wheat quantities already entered into the official portal.

According to the directorate’s instructions, flour mills can continue routine operations and may obtain fresh wheat procurement permits from their relevant District Food Controller office to maintain grinding activity and ensure flour supply in the market.

However, market insiders said the decision had restricted a sizeable portion of pipeline grain that mills had reported as available.

They said mills could continue grinding through newly permitted wheat, but their operational flexibility may be affected because declared stocks can no longer be used or liquidated.

They said mills holding larger declared stocks could face greater working-capital pressure, as the frozen grain would remain immobilised.

They said procurement through District Food Controller permits would now become the main supply channel for mills, increasing dependence on official allocations and possibly extending lead times.

Market participants said the measure could tighten the wheat supply chain if fresh permit-based releases do not match milling demand.

They said the withdrawal of declared private stocks from trade could reduce short-term marketable supply and put pressure on open market wheat prices.

Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has called an emergency meeting on Friday, June 5, 2026, to discuss the situation and decide its future course of action.

According to the association’s announcement, the flour milling industry is facing multiple challenges and mill owners are concerned over the lifting of wheat stocks that had earlier been declared on the official portal under the agreed principle.

The PFMA said the meeting had been convened because of the seriousness of the current situation and would consider issues being faced by the industry.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Food Directorate said only those stocks were being impounded for which no purchase record was available and which were held without valid permits.