Food minister assures striking flour millers of meeting all demands

LAHORE: In the wake of flour mills’ strike in Punjab, Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan contacted office-bearers of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) on Tuesday and assured them of meeting all their demands, ARY News reported.

Sources relayed the minister called the PFMA for talks to address their grievance.

They said the food department and flour millers will sign an agreement today, under which flour mills will be allowed to maintain a wheat stock for meeting requirements of seven days instead of two days.

Flour mills will be able to purchase wheat from any district of the province under the proposed agreement and district authorities and teams of the food department will not enter their premises.

The sources said the food department will achieve its target of wheat procurement until Eidul Fitr after which flour millers will have a complete freedom to purchase grains. The chairman of the flour mills association said millers have taken back a recent increase in wheat flour prices as flour bag weighing 20 kilogrammes will cost Rs805 now.

It is noteworthy that flour mills in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan had gone on strike against raids by the district administration and officials of the food department.

Punjab food minister assures striking flour millers of meeting all demands