Imported wheat has eased open-market grain rates in Pakistan, but flour prices for households and bakeries have stayed high. The first cargo of 51,000 tonnes reached Karachi Port on 28 October, and open-market wheat was quoted near Rs130 a kilogram, down from about Rs140. Wholesalers later averaged around Rs132 a kg, while flour millers spoke of wheat near Rs136–137 a kg.
A second vessel carrying 58,132 tonnes was due on Tuesday, 3 November. Even so, shoppers still face largely unchanged retail flour rates, and tandoor bread prices have not fallen with the mill cuts.
Mills cut rates; shops hold the line
Millers had raised several flour grades by about Rs20 a kg earlier, then trimmed prices as the import window opened. A miller said mills reduced rates on 28 October as the first shipment came in. Latest mill quotes put flour No. 2.5 at Rs156 a kg, maida at Rs168 and fine flour at Rs171 — down from Rs161, Rs173 and Rs176 in the first week of October.
At retail, flour No. 2.5 still sells for about Rs170–180 a kg, maida for Rs185–190 and fine flour for Rs185–190. That gap means mill relief has not fully reached neighbourhood shops.
Bread prices and LPG costs
Prices of chapati, naan, sheermal, and taftaan and qulcha remain about Rs20, Rs30–35, Rs100–110 and Rs90–100. A tandoor owner said high liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, the bottled cooking and oven fuel) at Rs500–550 a kg has cancelled out cheaper flour for bakers, and warned that further LPG rises could squeeze tandoor businesses.
Wholesaler Rauf Ibrahim said regulators had not curbed inflated retail rates even after open-market wheat eased. He argued that a planned import of 750,000 tonnes would not be enough, saying Pakistan needs more than 2 million tonnes to cover the gap until the next crop from Sindh and Punjab between March and May. He urged the government to let private firms and millers import wheat, and said workers earning under Rs50,000 a month were struggling to fund food and children’s schooling.
Where flour costs most
Sensitive Price Index figures for the week ending 29 October put Karachi and Hyderabad at the top for flour among major cities. A 20kg flour bag costs up to Rs3,540 in Karachi, against an average near Rs3,200 elsewhere; Hyderabad ranges about Rs3,360–3,400. In Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and other large Punjab cities, 20kg bags run from roughly Rs2,200 to Rs3,333.
For 10kg wheat bags, Sukkur led at Rs1,488, then Peshawar at Rs1,469 and Hyderabad at Rs1,453; Karachi was Rs1,440 and Islamabad–Rawalpindi about Rs1,453. Sargodha was lowest at Rs1,223, with Bahawalpur at Rs1,266 and Faisalabad and Sialkot at Rs1,300. Fine flour peaked at Rs187 a kg in Hyderabad and Quetta, Rs185 in Karachi and Rs183 in Islamabad, with other cities from Rs147 to Rs180. A miller linked Karachi’s high prices partly to reliance on wheat from elsewhere in Sindh, since the city does not grow the crop.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- First week of October: Mill prices for flour No. 2.5, maida and fine flour stood at Rs161, Rs173 and Rs176 a kg.
- 28 October: First 51,000-tonne import lands at Karachi Port; open-market wheat moves toward Rs130 a kg from Rs140; mills report price cuts the same day.
- Week ending 29 October: Sensitive Price Index data show Karachi and Hyderabad with the highest flour prices among major cities.
- 3 November: A second cargo of 58,132 tonnes is scheduled to arrive.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Bahar se gehun aa gaya hai aur market mein danay saste hue hain, magar atta abhi mehnga hai. Karachi aur Hyderabad mein 20 kilo ke thaile doosre shehron se zyada mehnge hain. Tandoor wali roti ke daam nahi gire kyunke LPG bohot mehnga hai. Ghar ke budget par abhi asaan nahi aayi — naya maal aane ke bawajood dukaan ke rate pehle jaisi hain.
