KARACHI: Flour millers have reduced ex-mill price of flour (No 2.5) to Rs28 from Rs30 per kg after a decline in wheat prices, but retailers are reluctant to pass on benefit to consumers.
The Karachi Atta Chakki Association (KACA) has also slashed Chakki flour price to Rs32 from 36 per kg.
Consumers till Monday had been paying Rs32 per kg for flour (No 2.5) at the retail level. Besides, there was also no change in the price of Chakki flour on the retail side as prices were hovering between Rs35 and 36 per kg.
A spokesman for Karachi Retail Grocers Group (KRGG) said that retailers had purchased old stocks at higher rates and it may take few more days to clear the piled up stocks.
The rates would come down after lifting of flour at reduced rates, he added.
KACA General Secretary Mohammad Anis Shahid said the association had already ensured supply of Chakki atta at reduced rates of Rs32 per kg at 800 small Chakkis in the city and even supply was being maintained at a full pace on Monday.
In view of huge supply of wheat from the interior of Sindh after a good crop, he said Chakki flour price may come down by Rs1 kg more in the coming days.
He said the association had also been asking retailers not to charge more than Rs33 per kg on Chakki flour from consumers.
He said the rate of highly clean wheat had come down to Rs25 from Rs27 per kg in the open market while unclean wheat price hovers between Rs23 and 24 per kg which was earlier being sold at Rs25-26 per kg.
He said there was an oversupply of wheat in the open market after ample supplies from interior of Sindh.
Besides, in summer demand for flour usually remains slow as people usually shift to soft foods, like rice, fruits etc.
Anis urged the Sindh and City governments to strictly monitor retailers now.
Sindh Zone Chairman of Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Mohammad Yousuf said that the 100 kg wheat bag is now priced at Rs2,300 as compared to Rs2,500 last week, while the government’s wheat is available at Rs2,524.
The Sindh government has, so far, procured 550,000 tons of wheat against the storage capacity of 640,000 tons, while the government has set a procurement target of 1.5 million tons. The government also had 225,000 tons from previous crop.
When asked about any further price cut in flour, he ruled out any possibility, saying this was the most appropriate price of flour right now.