LAHORE: Flour Mills Association called of strike as the Government has agreed with their demands that include storage of wheat for over one week.
A 10-member delegation of Flour Mills Association called on Senior Minister Punjab Abdul Aleem Khan and announced to end the strike on assurance that their concerns would be allayed.
Central Chairman Asim Raza and Provincial President Abdul Rauf Mukhtar who were heading this delegation agreed that flour prices would not increase till Eid-ul-Fitr and the district administration not to raid the flour mills while the Food Department would have access to these mills.
Senior Minister Aleem Khan said that flour mills would be allowed for 7 days wheat storage instead of 72 hours. He said that permission in this regard was being given but the flour mills would declare their stocks. He telephoned the Chief Secretary Punjab during the meeting and asked him to convey the new instructions up to the division and district level.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that this year wheat was being bought but intends to create a new mechanism for the affairs of flour mills for which the concerned stakeholders should be on the same page. He said that for this purpose a joint meeting of the Food Department and Flour Mills Association will be held immediately after Eid.
The Senior Minister clarified that the Government’s job should not be to procure raw materials but to regulate and facilitate flour mills. He said that the Punjab Government spends huge amount on procurement of wheat while storing and re-shifting is another exercise.
He added that a new strategy would be worked out for the procurement of wheat and “bar dana” in the coming years. He asked the officials of the Flour Mills Association to formulate their proposals in the light of which the next road map will be designed. The meeting decided that after Eid flour mills of KPK will also be given wheat but KPK Food Department would by wheat in Punjab in collaboration with Punjab Government.
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