The owners of the flour mills in Balochistan have accused the provincial administration of being to blame for the ongoing flour shortage in the province, claiming that the food department was unable to obtain enough wheat for this year.
Representatives of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Balochistan chapter Badaruddin Kakar, Asmatullah Kakar, and Abdul Wahid Bareech stated the crisis was caused by a huge disparity between supply and demand on Monday at a news conference.
They claimed that the proprietors of flour mills were being held responsible for the issue when, in fact, the provincial government had banned the transportation of wheat between provinces and between districts during the harvest season.
They asserted that despite the provincial cabinet’s directive, the food department was unable to secure one million sacks of wheat for the Nasirabad division.
In addition, they claimed, the government forbade flour millers from buying wheat from other regions and prevented trucks from delivering wheat from other provinces.
They stated that despite orders from the prime minister and the chief minister of Balochistan permitting the movement of wheat, the law enforcement forces kept stopping the cars.
They stated that this mindset will worsen the crisis and drive up flour costs in the province.
They rejected the government’s “propaganda” against the flour millers, arguing that the 300 bags of wheat released to the millers each day were insufficient to provide for Quetta’s 3.5 million residents.
They claimed that although the food department has received orders from the government to purchase wheat from Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Passco), the procurement process has not yet begun.
