Poll-bound Punjab to write to Centre to raise wheat supply

With wheat flour prices going through the roof in view of “short” supply, the Punjab government on Monday said it will write to the Centre to boost supply of wheat in order to rein in “rising” rates of wheat-related items.

Facing “huge” shortage of crop, flour mill owners warned that the price of flour and other wheat-based items shall further surge in the absence of any tangible move by the Centre in raising the availability of the winter crop. They said wheat flour prices in Punjab and Haryana have sharply increased by Rs 4 to 5 per kg in retail market in past fifteen days on account of “short” supply of crop.

Hike in prices of wheat related items have also impacted bread and biscuit makers in both the States.

“We are going to write to the government of India to increase the availability of wheat (under Open Market Sale Scheme) in order to contain price hike in wheat-based products,” a senior official of Punjab Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department said when he was asked what the State government was doing to contain rising prices of wheat flour.

“Situation being monitored”

“We are monitoring the situation,” he further said. Price of wheat flour has increased to Rs 23-24 per kg in wholesale market, up from Rs 20-21 per kg, mill owners said.

A 10-kg bag of flour is available at Rs 260-265 in retail market which was Rs 220 per bag few days back.

“If the government does not take any urgent steps, the wheat flour prices shall further go up,” Punjab Roller Flour Mill Association president Naresh Ghai said.

Flour mills owners hit out at the Centre and Punjab government for not paying any heed to their demand for boosting the supply of wheat in the market.

They said offer for sale of wheat under OMSS has been slashed considerably by FCI from one lakh tonne to 14,000 tonne per week.

With almost entire crop being with FCI, mills owners get supplies from the central procurement agency to meet their requirement of wheat, Mr Ghai further said.

Wheat roller flour mills in poll-bound Punjab have monthly wheat requirement of 70,000 tonne.

Mills owners further pointed out that traders from several States, including Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, were also participating in bids for buying wheat under OMSS.

“Traders from other States are buying crop by placing high bids and a result of which wheat prices have gone up to Rs 2,100 per quintal as against base price ofRs 1,640 a quintal,” said Mr Ghai.- PTI