Millers seek immediate wheat stocks release

KARACHI: The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) has expressed serious concerns over the Wheat Food Policy 2025–26 and urged the authorities to immediately release wheat stocks to flour mills to avert a looming crisis.

Speaking at an emergency press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, PFMA Sindh Circle Chairman Abdul Junaid Aziz, accompanied by senior leader Mahmood Molvi, Chaudhry Aamir, Abid Khan Mehsud, Ansar Javed, Mumtaz Sheikh and Muhammad Yousuf, accused the provincial government of supplying subsidised wheat to traders instead of flour mills, thereby depriving the people of Sindh of billions of rupees in subsidies.

They said that traders have been included in the food policy for the first time, with strict quota limits imposed on flour mills while no purchase cap has been set for traders. They added that the government is supplying wheat at Rs8,000 per 100-kg bag, which traders are then selling onward at Rs9,500 per bag.

PFMA has also issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the release of wheat to flour mills, warning that flour may become unavailable across the province after January 15 if supplies are not restored.

Abdul Junaid Aziz alleged that millions of bags of subsidised wheat meant for the people of Sindh were being sent to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and the people of Sindh are not beneficiaries of the subsidy provided by the Sindh government.

PFMA senior member Mahmood Molvi warned that if a decision was not taken within 24 hours to provide wheat to flour mills, he would publicly disclose the names of those who demanded bribes for releasing wheat to flour mills.

PFMA leaders said that if the food department and the Sindh government failed to take immediate notice of the issue, flour prices would not only rise sharply but flour could also become scarce in the province, forcing people to take to the streets in search of the staple.

They argued that traders purchase wheat only to earn profits, which was unacceptable. Although both flour mills and traders were given wheat quotas under the new food policy, no purchase limit was set for traders, they added. The association claimed this policy was designed to benefit certain individuals.