Fears of a flour crisis have been raised as a result of flour mills in many cities around the nation stopping their operations today (Thursday) to protest the recently implemented withholding tax.
According to the heads of the flour mills organization, the government has increased the withholding tax in the budget for 2024–2025 by up to 5.5% on various points in the supply chain of staple foods, increasing the cost of the product.
The authorities had also requested that the mills collect an additional 2.5% and 2% withholding tax on the sale of flour from non-filer merchants and wholesalers, respectively, according to the Central Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA).
Asim Raza, the chairman of the PFMA, meanwhile, reaffirmed that since the withholding tax increased the price of flour by Rs200, the mills would not be responsible for collecting it.
According to the PFMA, at least 1,725 flour mills nationwide—1,100 in Punjab, 300 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over 300 in Sindh, and 25 in Balochistan—had shut down.
It further stated that the nation consumed 40–45,000 tonnes of flour during the summer.
Following the PFMA’s declaration of a walkout against the withholding tax, all 100 flour mills in the four districts of the Multan Division—60 of which are located in Multan—are closed, while 73 flour mills in the Gujranwala area have closed entirely.
