LAHORE - The price of 20-kg flour bag would swell to Rs 580 from Rs 510 in the local market in November this year, as the Punjab government has decided to fix the new issue price of wheat at Rs 1030 per 40-kg in order to maintain the wheat prices in open market, sources disclosed here on Sunday. Sources in the Food Department further revealed that the government would issue wheat to the flourmills in November this year at Rs 1030 per 40-kg. The decision to this effect has been taken to encourage wheat purchase by private sector. The decision will help protect the growers rights amid bumper wheat crop this year but it would put extra-burden on the common man. Though it will push the prices of flour upward in the local market but it would also help stabilize wheat prices, a senior official of the Food Department requesting anonymity commented, when contacted. At present, the retail price of 20-kg flour bag is Rs 510 in the local market as the flourmills are lifting wheat from the open market at Rs 920 to Rs 950. Official sources said that the government has decided to increase the issue price of wheat in order to encourage private sector to purchase wheat from the growers at Rs 950 per 40-kg and to rule out the chances of downward trend in the wheat prices. It is important to mention here that last year, the government had issued wheat to the flourmills at Rs 625 per 40-kg and the price of 20-kg flour bag was fixed at Rs 365 in the local market in Punjab. Meanwhile according to an official handout issued on Sunday, Punjab Food Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran said that the government has decided to increase the issue price of wheat in order to safeguard the growers rights. The government has decided to issue wheat to the flourmills at Rs 1030 per 40-kg next year. The government is also trying to encourage the private sector to purchase wheat during this ongoing procurement drive, the Food Minister added. According to the economic experts and agriculturists, the alarming increase in the issue price of wheat for the flourmills as announced by the Food Minister would badly affect the poor and lower middle class. How the poor people particularly the labourers could buy a flour bag of 20-kg at around Rs 600 from the market in this era of inflation. This decision would definitely give bad name to the political leadership in Punjab. The government should give subsidy on flour to the public instead of paving way for increase in the flour prices, Mohammad Ramazan Rafique said. It is worth mentioning here that the PML (N), the ruling party in the Punjab, had promised to bring down the four prices during its election campaign but the situation would be altogether different if the government fix the new issue price of wheat at Rs 1030. On the other hand, the Punjab Food Department has crossed the last years total procurement, which was around 2.6 million tons, in the first 18 days of the ongoing procurement drive. The government is likely to touch 7 million tons wheat purchase mark this year owing to bumper crop as last year the country witnessed worst wheat production shortfall and the Punjab Food Department could only procure 2.6 million tons wheat during the entire wheat purchase campaign. According to the officials, the Food Department only on Saturday procured 204,057 metric tons wheat from all over the Punjab as the government has stepped up procurement campaign to purchase record wheat this year. The government has also decided that the wheat procurement campaign would go beyond May 31 and every grain of wheat would be purchased from the farmers. The government is also striving hard to eliminate the role of middleman from the wheat procurement to ensure due returns to the cultivators for their produce. The government has also enhanced the wheat procurement target from 3.5 million tons to 6.5 million tons owing to record production of wheat this year and to safeguard the interests of small farmers.