Pakistan’s flour crisis has intensified in Peshawar, where the price of a 20 kg bag of coarse wheat flour has climbed to Rs 3,300, pushing up the cost of roti and triggering public anger amid allegations that an artificial shortage is being created in the market.
The latest increase has hit households already struggling with elevated food and transport costs. While government-subsidised flour has become increasingly difficult to find in the open market, consumers are being forced to depend on commercial supplies available at considerably higher prices.
Prices climb sharply
A 20 kg bag of coarse, or dana-dar, flour is now selling for Rs 3,300 in Peshawar, while the same quantity of fine flour costs around Rs 3,120. An 80 kg bag of coarse flour has reached Rs 13,200, while a 20 kg bag of chokar, or wheat bran, is selling for around Rs 1,480.
The prices represent a sharp increase for one of Pakistan’s most essential household commodities. Wheat flour is central to the daily diet across the country, making fluctuations in its price particularly significant for low- and middle-income households.
The situation in Peshawar is especially severe compared with some other parts of Pakistan. Official data from Punjab, for instance, recently placed the notified price of a 20 kg flour bag in Lahore at around Rs 2,200, underlining the regional disparities in flour prices.
Roti prices rise
The flour surge has inevitably reached bakeries and tandoors, where the cost of roti has increased. Reports from Peshawar indicate that the price of a 50-gram roti has risen by about 50 per cent as bakers struggle to absorb higher flour costs.
For households that depend heavily on roti as a daily staple, even relatively small increases can significantly affect monthly food expenditure. The sharp rise has therefore generated anger among residents who have questioned why subsidised supplies have become difficult to obtain while commercial flour continues to remain available at much higher prices.
The crisis comes against the backdrop of broader inflationary pressures in Pakistan. Food prices have remained particularly sensitive to supply constraints, transportation expenses and changes in agricultural production.
Artificial shortage alleged
Traders and residents have alleged that the latest crisis is not entirely the result of an actual shortage of wheat but is being aggravated by deliberate restrictions on flour supplies.
There are allegations that some dealers and traders have been holding back stocks to create scarcity and benefit from rapidly rising prices. These claims have not yet been conclusively established, but they have prompted authorities to increase scrutiny of the flour trade.
Law-enforcement agencies are monitoring major flour dealers and warehouses across Peshawar as officials seek to determine whether stocks are being deliberately withheld from the market.
Reports have also claimed that some flour dealers made substantial profits within days as prices climbed rapidly. Authorities have yet to establish whether profiteering or hoarding played a decisive role in the current shortage.
Subsidised supply dries up
A key factor behind the immediate pressure is the reduced availability of government-subsidised flour. With cheaper supplies largely absent from the open market, consumers have fewer alternatives to flour sold at commercial rates.
The development has sharpened questions over the effectiveness of government intervention in Pakistan’s wheat market. The federal government had earlier maintained that the country had adequate wheat stocks and that there was no nationwide shortage.
In July, Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research said provincial governments had reported sufficient stocks. It also warned that action would be taken against hoarding and unjustified price increases.
The current situation in Peshawar therefore does not necessarily establish that Pakistan has physically run out of wheat. Rather, it points to a combination of tight market supplies, reduced availability of subsidised flour, high costs and possible distortions in distribution.
Wider pressure on wheat
The pressure on flour prices extends beyond Peshawar. International food monitoring data showed that wheat flour prices in Pakistan were already substantially higher this year than in 2025.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that retail wheat flour prices in August were between 50 and 83 per cent higher than a year earlier in monitored markets. It attributed the increase to elevated production costs, limited carryover stocks, lower output in some rain-fed areas and high transportation expenses.
Pakistan’s flour milling industry had also warned earlier this year of potential supply pressure during the winter and called for timely wheat imports. The government subsequently moved towards importing wheat to reinforce domestic availability.
High transport costs have added another layer of pressure. Disruptions to freight movement in recent weeks have affected supply chains in parts of the country, although the extent to which those disruptions have directly contributed to Peshawar’s latest flour price spike remains unclear.
Consumers bear the cost
For ordinary consumers, the distinction between an actual supply shortage and an artificially created scarcity offers little immediate relief. The effect at the retail level is the same — flour and roti have become substantially more expensive.
Authorities now face pressure to ensure subsidised stocks reach markets, prevent hoarding and determine whether traders are manipulating supplies. Stabilising prices will also depend on ensuring adequate wheat availability and uninterrupted transportation between producing and consuming regions.
The Peshawar spike has once again exposed the vulnerability of Pakistan’s staple-food market to disruptions in procurement, distribution and pricing. With a 20 kg flour bag now touching Rs 3,300, the immediate challenge for authorities is to restore affordable supplies before the strain spreads further across household food budgets.