Millers Cut Flour Prices by Rs3 per Kg, but Consumers Yet to Benefit
KARACHI: Flour millers have reduced the prices of various flour varieties by Rs3 per kilogram, but the cut has not yet translated into lower retail prices for consumers.
The millers issued revised ex-mill rates a day earlier, fixing the prices of No. 2.5 flour, maida and fine flour at Rs141, Rs149 and Rs152 per kg, respectively.
A flour miller attributed the reduction to the arrival of cheaper rice-mixed flour from interior Sindh in Karachi. He said feed-mill quality rice was being mixed with wheat to produce the lower-priced flour.
However, wheat prices in the open market have remained largely unchanged at Rs125-130 per kg, despite the government’s plan to import 750,000 tonnes of wheat in the coming months to avert a possible wheat and flour shortage.
The miller said the Rs3 reduction was not linked to any expected market impact from the arrival of imported wheat in November.
Retail and roti prices remain unchanged
The marginal reduction in flour prices is unlikely to provide any immediate relief to consumers, particularly as prices of roti and other traditional bakery products have already increased following earlier increases in wheat prices.
Tandoor operators have raised the price of naan by Rs5 to Rs30-35 per piece, while prices of sheermal, taftaan and kulcha have increased by Rs10. Good-quality chapati is now being sold at around Rs20 per piece.
A tandoor operator described the Rs3 reduction as insignificant compared with the substantial increase in flour prices since the arrival of the new wheat crop between March and May.
“I do not know why millers have reduced the rate despite rising transportation costs due to higher diesel and LPG prices, while wheat prices in the open market remain unchanged,” he said.
He added that the recent increase of Rs30-40 in LPG prices to Rs400-420 per kg would effectively wipe out any benefit from the reduction in flour prices.
Retail flour prices remain high
In retail markets, No. 2.5 flour, maida and fine flour are being sold at around Rs160, Rs170 and Rs180 per kg, respectively, indicating that the reduction in millers’ prices has yet to reach consumers.
Branded five-kilogram bags of fine flour are available for Rs950-1,000, while the city administration appears reluctant to effectively monitor and regulate the prices of branded flour products.
According to Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) data for the week ending September 24, the national average price of a 20kg flour bag stood at Rs2,200-3,200, while a 10kg wheat bag averaged Rs1,269 and one kilogram of fine flour Rs155.84.
At the end of March, the corresponding prices were Rs1,810-2,740, Rs1,039 and Rs137, respectively, highlighting the significant increase in wheat and flour prices over the past several months.