Wheat quality row erupts in Punjab

According to Dawn, flour millers in Punjab have accused the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) of supplying spoiled, water-damaged wheat, a claim Passco denies. Asim Raza, a leader of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), said on Wednesday that tests found moisture above 21 per cent, while the normal range is 9 to 11pc. The millers must supply flour with no more than 14.5pc moisture, so milling such grain produces flour of severely poor quality.

The millers further accuse Passco employees of deliberately dispatching wet wheat with a foul smell and mould, making it unfit for human consumption. They say buying from Passco costs Rs3,800 per 40kg against Rs4,650 in the open market, and receiving damp grain adds losses of up to Rs1,100 per bag at official rates. The PFMA calls this administrative financial corruption and notes that no recent heavy rain or flooding has hit the region.

Passco rejects the allegations, and a senior officer who spoke without being named calls them baseless. He argues that the real dispute involves fuel charges paid by the Punjab government, since the millers want wheat collected from the point nearest to their units. Punjab Food Director General Amjad Hafeez also denied the claims, citing digital meter tests at the site that recorded moisture of 8.7pc, within safe limits.