Flour Price in Pakistan Jumps Rs 154 a Bag in a Week, Islamabad Hits Rs 3,364

A 20 kg bag of wheat flour (atta) cost an average of Rs 2,851.04 across Pakistan in the week ended 8 October 2026. That is Rs 154 more than a week earlier, a rise of 5.69%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). It was the biggest weekly rise of any item PBS tracks.

Islamabad is now the dearest city at Rs 3,364.33 a bag. Lahore and Faisalabad are the cheapest, at about Rs 2,200, and their prices did not move at all. So the same bag costs about Rs 1,160 more in the capital than in Faisalabad.

We read the PBS city annex for 8 October and the one for 1 October, and compared all 17 cities. Every price below is a PBS weekly average for that city.

The national flour price rose Rs 154 a bag in one week

The 17 city average went from Rs 2,697.45 on 1 October to Rs 2,851.04 on 8 October. A year ago, in the week ended 9 October 2025, the same bag averaged Rs 2,150.09. So flour is now Rs 701 a bag, or 32.60%, dearer than a year ago.

In per kilo terms, the average is now about Rs 143 a kilo, on our arithmetic. In Islamabad it is about Rs 168, and in Lahore about Rs 111.

The rise was large for one week. The week before, flour went up only 0.29%. The overall weekly price index rose 0.57%, and flour was its biggest single mover, as our report on weekly inflation for 8 October shows.

Flour prices in all 17 cities PBS checks

Fifteen of the 17 cities saw flour go up this week. Only Lahore and Faisalabad stayed exactly where they were. Bannu rose the most, by Rs 417 a bag, followed by Islamabad and Sukkur.

The highest single price PBS recorded was Rs 3,400 a bag, found in markets in Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar. The lowest was Rs 2,200, found in several Punjab cities.

Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa saw the steepest rises

Outside Punjab, every city rose. Karachi went up Rs 228 and Hyderabad Rs 202. Sukkur rose Rs 300 in a single week, about 11%. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar rose Rs 269 and Bannu Rs 417, about 14%.

Balochistan moved less. Quetta rose Rs 70 and Khuzdar Rs 34. Both were already near Rs 3,000 a bag, so the rise there came earlier.

A family in Karachi using two bags a month now pays about Rs 455 more than it did a week ago, on our arithmetic. In Bannu the same two bags cost Rs 833 more.

Lahore and Faisalabad held near Rs 2,200 a bag

In Punjab, the picture splits in two. Lahore at Rs 2,218.86 and Faisalabad at Rs 2,200 have not changed for weeks. Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Bahawalpur rose by Rs 180 to Rs 227 a bag in the same week.

Lahore's flour has sat at Rs 2,218.86 since mid September, as our September report on Punjab flour prices found. The PBS minimum in Lahore is still Rs 2,200 and the maximum Rs 2,300.

Rawalpindi is the outlier inside Punjab. Its average is now Rs 2,964.56, and some of its markets charged up to Rs 3,333. That is closer to Islamabad's price than to Lahore's, which makes sense for twin cities sharing the same shops and mills.

PBS does not give a reason for the rise

PBS records prices. It does not explain them. The federal food ministry's news page had no notice on flour prices this week when we checked it on 9 October.

What we can say is how flour is priced. Wheat is a provincial subject. Each province decides its own procurement and release policy, and city administrations may notify a retail rate for flour. Where the district has notified a rate, a shop charging above it is breaking the price control law.

The federal government set an indicative wheat price of Rs 3,500 per 40 kg for the last crop. No new support price has been announced for the coming crop, as our page on the wheat support price for 2026-27 explains.

How to check and report an unfair flour price

The PBS city average gives you a fair yardstick. It is not a legal price, but it shows whether a shop is far out of line with the rest of your city.

1. Open the latest PBS weekly SPI release and download the city annex PDF.
2. Find Wheat Flour Bag 20 kg and read your city's minimum, average and maximum.
3. Check your district's official price list, if it has one. In Lahore it is linked from the district government's website.
4. Keep the receipt or note the shop name, address and price charged.
5. In Punjab, complain on the Qeemat Punjab app or the free line 0800-02345. The steps are in our page on how to report overcharging in Punjab.

Elsewhere, the complaint goes to the district price control magistrate through the deputy commissioner's office. A complaint is strongest when it names a notified rate rather than an average.

Common questions

What is the price of a 20 kg flour bag in Pakistan today?

The PBS national average was Rs 2,851.04 in the week ended 8 October 2026. City averages ranged from Rs 2,200 in Faisalabad to Rs 3,364.33 in Islamabad.

How much did flour go up this week?

It went up Rs 153.59 a bag on average, or 5.69%, from Rs 2,697.45 on 1 October. It was the largest weekly rise of the 51 items PBS checks.

Which city has the cheapest flour?

Faisalabad, at Rs 2,200 a bag, followed by Lahore at Rs 2,218.86. Neither changed this week.

Which city has the most expensive flour?

Islamabad, at an average of Rs 3,364.33 a bag. Bannu was next at Rs 3,300 and Karachi at Rs 3,256.97.

Is flour cheaper or dearer than last year?

Dearer. The national average is Rs 701 a bag, or 32.60%, higher than in the week ended 9 October 2025, when it was Rs 2,150.09.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read these PBS documents on 9 October 2026. The city order of the annex columns is the one PBS uses in every weekly annex.

• PBS, SPI for the week ended 8 October 2026
• PBS city annex, 8 October 2026 (PDF)
• PBS city annex, 1 October 2026 (PDF)

Per kilo prices, rupee changes and the two bag household costs are our own arithmetic on PBS figures.