Flour crisis deepens in Karachi

KARACHI: The flour crisis in Karachi city due to the strike by flour millers as the essential commodity is being sold in black market, ARY News reported.

After the strike by the flour millers, the wholesale markets in Karachi, including the Jodia Bazaar ran out of flour, and prices hiked by Rs 5 per kilogram.

Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, a representative of wholesale grossers, said that the flour is being sold in the black market as well as at exorbitant prices in Karachi. He asked the government and flour mill owners to engage in talks to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and other cities are also facing the crises as they ran out of flour. The price of fine flour has increased by Rs 5 per kilogram in the wholesale market, while the price of other flour hiked by Rs 2, reaching Rs 88 per kilogram.

The retailers and chakki owners have also increased prices, with a 10-kilogram bag of flour now being sold at Rs 60 higher than the actual prices.

Meanwhile, Chairman Flour Mills Association Amir Abdullah claimed that the federal government has taken notice of the strike and formed a committee to negotiate with them. However, he said that the flour millers not yet decided to end their strike.

The flour mill owners has been on strike since July 11 against the imposition of a 2.5 percent withholding tax in the budget 2024-25

The flour mill owners said that due to increasing electricity bills, they are already facing difficulties in running their business.

“The additional 2.5 percent withholding tax will further ruin our business,” they added.