Entertainment
After sugar price shock, flour soars as wheat costs spike
- Market deregulation sparks surge in wheat prices.
- Wheat climbs to Rs3,100, flour bags costlier.
- Wheat jumps Rs1,000, flour bags up Rs500.
LAHORE: Wheat and flour prices have surged sharply, with wheat climbing by Rs300 this week to Rs3,100 per maund (40kg).
The hike follows a month-long upward trend, during which wheat gained nearly Rs1,000 per 40kg and the price of a 20kg flour bag rose by about Rs500.
This recent hike is part of a broader trend, as both wheat and flour prices have been steadily increasing. The steep increases have raised alarm over market manipulation and the absence of effective government oversight.
Critics claim that the provincial government’s abrupt decision to cease regulating the wheat market without prior notice has created an environment conducive to price manipulation. This lack of oversight may have empowered wheat hoarders to artificially inflate prices, further exacerbating the situation.
According to Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Chairman Asim Raza, the government has been facing challenges in controlling wheat prices. Raza warned that the ongoing rise in wheat prices is likely to trigger a corresponding increase in flour prices in the near future.
In response to these developments, the association is actively focusing on the issue to better understand the underlying causes and potential implications for the market.
Nevertheless, the emerging situation, according to market insiders, highlights the complex interplay between government policies, market forces, and price dynamics in the wheat and flour sectors.
Progressive Flour Millers Group (PFMG) Chairman Khaliq Arshad cautioned that low wheat reserves in the country could be one of the leading reasons for the rising trend in its prices.
According to him, Punjab has estimated reserves of over 2.5 million tonnes, both in the public and private sector, which are definitely not enough to meet the demand till April 2026.
He was of the view that prices of wheat and flour may continue to climb steadily if authorities failed to take corrective measures. The upward trend of grain prices prompted traders to sell stored wheat in the open market. That is why the wheat price reversed from Rs3,250 per 40 to Rs3,100.
To a question, he stressed the need to adopt a proactive approach by the federal and provincial governments for supplementing wheat stocks with a view to meeting domestic demand before the start of the next harvesting season. Import of wheat may be inevitable given the present and evolving situation, he warned.
PFMG President Majid Abdullah observed that stakeholders are closely monitoring the situation, anticipating potential impacts on the broader food market.
He disclosed that the notification issued by the Punjab government about capping the price of wheat at Rs2,900 per 40kg and flour at Rs1,750 in the retail market is no more being followed in the market. The strong market dynamics have baffled many, and these are dictating demand and supply as well as prices now onwards, he added.
It is a simple matter of demand and supply, he emphasized, adding if the government wants to maintain flour price at certain level, policy needs to be revised according to ground realities.
When contacted, Special Assistant to CM, Price Control & Commodities Management Salma Butt was not available for comment on specific queries regarding the surge in wheat and flour prices that have been on the rise for about a month.
Entertainment
Offset teases new album plans after recent shooting accident
Offset is coming back stronger after his shooting accident which altered his plans, but he still showed up – even taking the stage on a wheelchair.
The 34-year-old rapper spoke about his recovery and accident in a new interview, sharing how he kept his morale up and continued pushing himself.
“You’ve got to keep pushing like the Energizer Bunny, man. Keep this s— pushing. Don’t got time to be slowing down.” Offset told the Creators Inc. Podcast on Thursday, March 23.
Speaking about his performance mid-recovery, the Annihilate hitmaker noted, “You got to go G6 — G5, sorry. Had them bring the bed out, lay on that thing for six hours, go to sleep. You cool.”
The rapper also hinted at his new album in the same interview, saying, “I’m trying to drop soon. Couple months from now. I don’t got no date yet, but getting the creative and all s— to go together. Removing songs, making new songs, just off life because all my s— always be off of life experiences. You know what I mean? What happens in my real life, I just put it in my music.”
Despite the Florida accident, Offset shared that he maintains a “gladiator mentality” which motivates him to push forward instead of being held down by such incidents.
“The show don’t ever stop at the end of the day. I was blessed enough to be able to still move, you know what I mean? So, I’m still moving. I didn’t really have a checklist for it,” he said.
The Open It Up singer added, “I don’t want nobody feel sorry for me or no s— like that. People get shot every day, bro, like, I’m blessed. I can keep pushing, so why would I just sit down? I got to keep pushing. I got to keep going.”
Entertainment
Rob and Michele Reiner’s son, Jake, speaks out about his parents’ deaths: “My world, as I knew it, had collapsed”
Jake Reiner, son of Rob and Michele Reiner, spoke out on Friday for the first time since his parents were brutally killed in their Los Angeles home in December, detailing the moment he learned what happened.
In a post to Substack, Jake said he was at the celebration of life for one of his best friends when his sister, Romy, called to tell him that their father was dead. Moments later, he wrote, he found out his mother was also killed.
“My world, as I knew it, had collapsed. I was in a trance,” Jake said. “The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home. I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened.”
He said he then took a rideshare service from the funeral in downtown to his family’s Brentwood home, which he called “unendurable.”
“Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time,” he wrote. “It’s too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.”
Rob and Michele were found dead with stab wounds on Dec. 14. Shortly after, their son, Nick, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Nick was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree in a Los Angeles courtroom in February. He pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Rob Reiner, director of iconic films such as “Stand by Me” and “When Harry Met Sally…” was 78. Michele Singer Reiner, an accomplished photographer and film producer, was 70.
Jake then wrote about his grief and described his relationship with his parents. He only alluded to his brother, not mentioning his name, at the end of the more than 1,600-word post.
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” Jake wrote. “Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it. It’s almost too impossible to process. I understand that people have questions about what happened. Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this belong only to our family, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of something that was taken from us.”
Entertainment
Ellen Burstyn reflects on how poetry impacts her life
Ellen Burstyn, known for her Oscar-winning role in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” has spent seven decades in Hollywood, but she tells “CBS Mornings” that poetry has also shaped her life as she discusses her new book “Poetry Says It Better.”
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