HYDERABAD: The price of wheat has shot up threatening to hurt the household budgets in Hyderabad once again as the price of a 100-kilogram bag has skyrocketed to a record Rs13,100 in the open market.

That increase is especially concerning because it has been at an extraordinary rate. A 100kg bag of wheat that was sold for Rs12,500 on Saturday increased to Rs12,800 on Sunday and another Rs300 on Monday. Consumers and flour millers have been hit by a Rs600 increase in two days.

And the biggest concern is what comes next.

Flour millers and chakki owners fear that if wheat prices continue their upward march, flour could soon cross Rs160 per kilogram and potentially reach Rs170 per kilogram in Hyderabad.

Government quota delay adds to pressure

Chakki owners and flour mill owners said that they are being forced to buy wheat from the open market as the wheat under the quota system by the government has not been released so far.

Sindh government has announced a policy for releasing wheat stocks from government warehouses but the official release price is yet to be announced.

The government had planned to release the wheat quota from October 1. The date was later pushed back to October 20, leaving millers and chakki owners at the mercy of the increasingly expensive open market.

Traders say the delay has created an opportunity for hoarders and profiteers to take advantage of the supply gap.

Flour prices already climbing

Consumers are already feeling the pinch.

Currently, Chakki owners are selling flour at around Rs155 per kilogram at the wholesale level, whereas retailers and general stores are charging around Rs160 per kilogram.

A slight increase can translate into a significant leap in monthly household costs for families who rely heavily on flour as a daily staple.

If wheat rises further in the coming days, flour prices could also rise.

Chakki owners warn of artificial shortage

Haji Muhammad Memon, president of the Flour Chakki Owners Social Welfare Association, told the Express that an artificial shortage of wheat had been created in Hyderabad's open market.

He claimed that wheat was difficult to obtain even at Rs13,100 per 100kg and warned that hoarders could push prices further upward if government stocks were not released promptly.

According to chakki owners, producing one kilogram of flour costs around Rs35, while the deputy commissioner has approved only Rs24 as the cost component to be included in the flour price.

This gap, they argue, is adding further pressure to an already strained market.

For now, the immediate demand from flour-chakki owners is straightforward: release the government wheat quota without further delay and take measures to prevent hoarding and artificial shortages.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)