Food Department Increases Daily Wheat Release to 4,000 Tonnes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar – Following a Peshawar High Court order and directions from the Cabinet Oversight Committee, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Department has raised its daily wheat release quota from 3,000 to 4,000 metric tonnes. The extra 1,000 tonnes will be supplied from the National Reserve Center warehouses in Azakhel, where functioning flour mills stand ready to process the grain and avoid further losses.

The department said the additional quota will be distributed among districts based on the province’s population of 43.84 million. The Director of Food has instructed all district food controllers and rationing controllers to implement the new allocation.

Under the revised plan, Peshawar will receive an extra 116 tonnes each day, Mardan 67 tonnes, Swabi 46 tonnes, Charsadda 45 tonnes, Nowshera 43 tonnes and Lower Dir 40 tonnes. Other districts will get the following daily amounts: Lower Swat 39 tonnes, Abbottabad 35 tonnes, Mansehra 44 tonnes, Dera Ismail Khan 45 tonnes, Bannu 33 tonnes, Bajaur 32 tonnes and Kohat 30 tonnes. The remaining quota is allocated to the other districts according to their respective shares.

The decision follows a report by the Storage and Enforcement Officer at the Azakhel reserve centre, which warned that recent flash floods had damaged stored wheat. Floodwater entered the warehouses and soaked the lower layers of wheat bags. Six of the eleven warehouses suffered damage, while five remained intact. The report urged an immediate release of stocks to prevent further loss, especially with more rain forecast.

To ensure transparency, the Director of Food has ordered district food controllers and rationing controllers to submit verified lists of operational flour mills to the release committee before any wheat is lifted. All records of wheat allocation, transport and release must be updated promptly in the ICT application.

Government‑produced flour from the additional wheat will be sold to consumers through authorised dealers at the officially announced prices, officials said. The department has instructed all relevant officers to monitor district allocations closely, confirm that flour mills are operating, and guarantee that government flour is sold at the set rates.