Citizens queue for flour amid shortages, inflation

HYDERABAD: Under­privileged citizens are bra­ced for another tough mon­th when it comes to buying flour, as owners of both mills and community-level grinding units (chakkis) say they may not be able to meet consumers’ demand.

Besides, chakki owners have another axe to grind: they complain that millers are getting more wheat from the government’s stocks even though it was they, the chakki owners, who cater to citizens’ needs at the street level.

November’s figures released by the Sindh food department show that out of 210,000 tonnes of wheat, mills would get more than six times more wheat than chakkis, i.e. around 181,608 tonnes compared to 28,392 tonnes.

In the 2021-22 season, the Sindh food department bought wheat from farmers at a support price of Rs5,500 per 100kg and then supplied it to chakkis and mills during October and November this year for Rs5,825 per 100kg (or Rs58.25 per kg).

In the open market, however, wheat’s price stood at Rs86 per kg (or Rs8,600 per 100kg) until Nov 3, indicating a substantial difference in rates. With the addition of the production cost of Rs22, flour’s retail price comes down to around Rs110.

The retail price of chak­­ki flour was fixed in March at Rs72 per kg. Since then, the district administration has avoided fixing the chak­­­ki rate due to the ongoing row between chakki owners and the food department over quota.

Meanwhile, the wheat price has increased in the market ever since the government announced a support price of Rs3,500 per 40kg for the upcoming wheat crop season though quite early — i.e. in Sept­ember — to support flood-stricken farmers who have lost their kharif crops.

The government said it aimed to avoid a famine-like situation by offering a better support price.

The Sindh food secretary could not be reached for comment.

Waiting for wheat

From consumers’ perspective, the struggle they have to make to save a few bucks sometimes beats the purpose.

Consumers like Shamim and Sahiba form long queues for hours and travel long distances to get subsidised flour from delivery pickups. Sahiba, for instance, pays Rs300 rickshaw fare to and from his home near Fatah Chowk to the delivery point near the Hyderabad Press Club just to ultimately save Rs150-200 on a 10kg flour bag.

Shamim, an elderly woman, said she had reached the spot at nine in the morning to get subsidised flour for Rs650 a bag compared to retail rates of around Rs1,100. She finally received the bag four hours later at 1pm.

“What else can I do? My husband is a labourer and works in the wholesale fruit market to earn Rs500 daily. This subsidised flour is our saviour,” she said.

At the site, men and women could be seen chasing the flour delivery trucks.

However, consumers say they mostly prefer chakki’s flour for its taste and nutritional value. Health exp­erts like Prof Imran Sheikh of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences also recommend this flour because of what he says its low sugar and carbohydrate content and high fibre.

“Inflation is taking a heavy toll on us. Both my husband and I have to work to make ends meet. We have to feed 10 people,” Shamim said.