Expressing worry over the recent surge in flour prices, the All Pakistan Naanbai Association has urged the Punjab government and district administration to promptly reduce them. The association has warned that if prices are not lowered by July 1, they will take drastic measures, such as increasing the prices of roti and naan, halting the sale of patiri roti, or initiating an indefinite shutter-down strike.
In addition, there are expectations of further price hikes from July 1, causing concerns among consumers. Flour mills have stopped taking orders for supply immediately after July 1, pending confirmation. The new prices will be determined either on June 30 or July 1.
“We will not tolerate this any longer,” asserted President Shafiq Qureshi of the All Pakistan Naanbai Association. He expressed disappointment that coercing a reduction in bread prices is not feasible and urged concrete steps from the government and district administration to lower essential input costs like flour, gas, and electricity.
Highlighting the challenges faced by tandoor operators, Qureshi pointed out that they currently use expensive commercial gas cylinders for baking due to disruptions in gas supply. He criticized the high costs of commercial gas cylinders, priced at Rs13,500, and electricity, describing them as being as expensive as gold. Qureshi emphasized that with such high operating costs including flour, gas, electricity, and rental fees, it is impractical for tandoors to maintain low bread prices.
Qureshi called for immediate government intervention to regulate these costs, warning that failure to do so would force them to increase bread prices. He demanded that the district administration and Punjab government issue a notification on flour prices, underlining that tandoor owners may otherwise be compelled to suspend their operations.
