Flour mills in the Punjab region have raised the prices of flour, attributing the increase to a recent surge in wheat prices. The chairman of the Punjab Flour Mills Association announced a price hike of Rs1 per kilogram, reflecting rising production costs.
In the past two weeks, wheat prices have climbed by Rs300 per 40 kilograms, and the availability of wheat in the market is dwindling. The chairman criticized the food department’s attempts to regulate the open market through what he described as “illegal” notifications and urged the government to retract show-cause notices issued to flour mills in Punjab.
In a related development, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the export of an additional 500,000 metric tonnes of surplus sugar. This decision was made during a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in Islamabad on Friday.
The export approval is contingent upon the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association committing to commence production by the 21st of next month in preparation for the upcoming crop year. Non-compliant mills will have their export quotas revoked. Furthermore, exporters are required to ensure that shipments occur within ninety days of quota allocation.
The ECC has also tasked the Cabinet Committee on Monitoring Sugar Exports with overseeing the country’s sugar demand, supply, and pricing, with updates to be provided to the Cabinet.
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