SIALKOT: Despite fresh wheat is expected in couple of months, huge stocks of wheat worth Rs6 billion is still yet to be sold in Gujranwala Division.
Sources in the Food Department said that the flour mills were willing to purchase wheat from open market. They said that the department had procured wheat worth Rs11 billion during the last season, out of which wheat worth Rs6 billion was still stocked in the go-downs due to the less interest in purchasing of wheat by the flour mills.
The Punjab government had already reduced the support price of wheat from Rs1330 to Rs1280 per mound to attract flour millers.
The department has yet to sell out 1,297,700 bags of wheat worth Rs4.5 billion in Gujranwala Division while 1,994,492 bags worth Rs6.5 billion still to be sold out in 150 official go-downs in the region.
Flour Mills Association Punjab Vice President Gohar Saeed said that the wheat support price remained less in the open markets than the official price, due to which the trend of purchasing wheat by the flour mills from the food department remained very low.
