Pakistan Faces Roti Price Surge Amid Flour Crisis

Amid a sharp sugar price surge, consumers nationwide in Pakistan are grappling with escalating flour and roti costs, as wheat and flour prices skyrocket. The crisis has intensified due to recent flash floods in Punjab, which crippled supply chains and amplified food price pressures across the country.

Reports indicate that tandoor operators in Karachi have hiked roti varieties by an average Rs2 per piece, delivering a heavy blow to low- and middle-income groups, particularly daily wage earners dependent on budget-friendly local eateries.

Beyond Karachi’s roti hikes, negotiations between the government, district administration, and All Bakers’ Organisations to adjust roti prices have collapsed. Under the Pakistan Nanbai Association, bakery organizations from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and all 43 districts of Punjab declared they will unilaterally elevate prices for roti, naan, paratha, and roghani naan effective Tuesday, September 9.

This bold move prompted the district administration to summon an emergency meeting with Bakers’ Organisations, but defiant bakers’ leaders have vanished to evade arrests and rebuffed official dialogues.

Shafiq Qureshi, central president of the Pakistan Nanbai Association, revealed that red flour priced at Rs5,435 per 79 kg sack until August 31 has leaped to Rs9,200 in mills and Rs9,700 in the open market. Likewise, fine flour, formerly Rs6,200 per sack, now fetches Rs9,800 to Rs10,400. Consequently, Surkh Patiri bread has climbed to Rs20 from Rs14, with naan and paratha poised for a Rs5 uptick.

In Karachi, flour prices have also surged, with select branded flour millers jacking up five-kilogram bags of fine flour to Rs700, from Rs500 in August and Rs600 in September—despite the new wheat crop arriving early this year. Retailers suspect large traders are exploiting high demand for old flour stocks, fueling the escalation.

Market analysts contend the wheat shortage isn’t tied to Punjab floods, as the new crop was reaped in March and April. Yet, stockists and hoarders are allegedly withholding massive wheat stocks, biding time for amplified price spikes driven by supply-demand imbalances.

Salman Mian Araieen, from the All Sindh Sheermal Tandoor Roti Association, disclosed that tandoor operators, who sold naan for Rs22-23 per piece, have bumped it to Rs25. Chapati now costs Rs14-15, up from Rs11-12. Though flour prices have risen, certain tandoors are holding back full pass-throughs, anticipating a possible downturn.

Araieen noted the 50 kg bag of fine atta has ballooned by Rs1,900 in one month to Rs5,700 from Rs3,800. Despite sugar hitting Rs200 per kg (from Rs180) and ghee surging to Rs7,900 for a 16kg tin (from Rs6,500), sheermal and taftan hold firm at Rs70-90 per piece based on weight and quality. Persistent flour hikes could trigger an extra Rs10 per piece for these.

Some tandoor owners are mulling the axing of Rs20 naan sales, deeming it unviable. Araieen highlighted that a 40 kg wheat bag has hit a staggering Rs3,943, a 72-week peak unseen since April 2024.