Punjab permit dispute threatens flour shortage in Rawalpindi and Islamabad
A standoff between Pakistan's flour milling sector and the Punjab Food Department risks an acute flour shortage in Rawalpindi and Islamabad after wheat procurement permits were revoked. Millers warn production could stop within 24 hours if permits are not restored.
Standoff between millers and Punjab Food Department
A dispute between Pakistan's flour milling sector and the Punjab Food Department has raised fears of a flour shortage in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. According to reports cited by The Express Tribune, the department withdrew wheat procurement permits previously granted to flour mills across the Rawalpindi Division, cutting off their access to wheat from surplus-producing districts in Punjab.
The Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) issued a stark warning: if the permits are not reinstated within 24 hours, flour production will cease and supplies to the market will be halted. The cancellation has barred mills from sourcing grain from districts that typically yield a surplus, threatening the flow of wheat into the mills that supply the twin cities.
Industry demands restoration of permits
At an urgent PFMA meeting chaired by Punjab Chairman Riaz Ullah Khan, members denounced the Food Department's decision, The Express Tribune reported. Former PFMA Vice Chairman Raza Ahmed Shah, alongside other representatives, demanded the immediate restoration of the permits to avert a suspension of operations in mills serving Islamabad and surrounding areas. The association said failure to act could cause significant disruption in local flour markets.
Wheat transport obstructed after protests
Tensions have been aggravated by recent protests against what industry leaders described as unfounded criminal cases and First Information Reports lodged against mill owners. The obstruction of wheat transportation into the Rawalpindi Division, allegedly prompted by these protests, has further jeopardised flour production. Mill owners argue the standoff has left them unable to move grain even from districts where wheat is in surplus.
What is at stake for the market
The PFMA also criticised the Food Department's policies for burdening mill owners and inflating wheat prices, urging immediate government intervention to ease pressure on consumers, according to The Express Tribune. Rawalpindi and Islamabad together form one of Pakistan's largest urban consumer markets, and any interruption to flour supply from the mills that serve them would be felt quickly at retail level.
The dispute is administrative rather than the result of a poor harvest: the wheat exists in surplus districts, but the revoked permits and blocked transport prevent mills from accessing it. Whether the shortage materialises now depends largely on how quickly the Punjab Food Department and the industry resolve the permit question. For traders and buyers tracking Pakistan's grain flows, the immediate risk is concentrated in local flour availability and price in the twin cities rather than in national wheat balances.
