Flour millers have raised concerns about rising flour prices, accusing the Punjab government of artificially creating a wheat and flour crisis by imposing a ban under Section 144 on the inter-provincial movement of wheat and related products.
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) South Zone argued that the provincial restrictions were in direct contradiction to the wheat deregulation policy and violated Article 151 of the Constitution, which allows the free movement of goods across provinces. The association warned that such provincial measures could cause nationwide disruptions.
PFMA South Zone Chairman Abdul Junaid Aziz, in a letter to Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, pointed out that the ban has placed wheat stocks worth billions of rupees in jeopardy, especially in flood-affected areas of Punjab. The restriction also denies consumers in other provinces access to lower-priced flour.
Aziz stressed that Punjab, which accounts for 70% of the country’s wheat output, is crucial to supplying wheat to other provinces. He called for immediate intervention by the federal government, saying, “We are a single nation. Our joys and sorrows are shared. Such measures damage national unity.”
He further warned that stored wheat in flood-affected regions could be ruined if not transported promptly to safer locations in other provinces. “The Punjab government is taking a heavy risk by blocking wheat movement, endangering national food security and increasing financial losses,” he added.
Aziz emphasized that there is no legitimate reason for the movement ban since Punjab holds a sufficient surplus of wheat stocks. Chaudhry Aamir Abdullah, Central Executive Member of PFMA South, proposed that either the government lift the inter-provincial restrictions or allow the private sector to import one million tonnes of wheat to avert an imminent crisis.
He mentioned that checkpoints had been set up by the Punjab government at exit routes and motorway interchanges to block the transportation of wheat and flour to other provinces. Millers warned that without swift action, there could be a severe flour shortage, leading to further price hikes in the coming months.
