- PM Shehbaz chairs high-level meeting with provincial CMs to finalise wheat policy
- Decision ends curbs on wheat, flour transport imposed by Punjab’s permit regime
- Policy aims to balance farmer profits with consumer affordability, says PM, pledging continued support for agriculture
- Strategic reserves of 6.2m tonnes to be maintained under new framework
- Wheat procurement price set at Rs3,500 per maund in line with global rates
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has approved the wheat policy for 2025–26, ensuring that there will be no restriction on inter-provincial movement of the crop to maintain a “steady nationwide supply, fair prices for farmers and stable strategic reserves to safeguard national food security, a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement said on Sunday.
The announcement follows weeks of tension after the Punjab government tightened controls on wheat and flour transport across provincial borders under a permit regime—a move that drew sharp criticism from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for disrupting market flows.
According to the PMO, the new policy was finalised at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. A representative of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, as well as the AJK prime minister and senior stakeholders, also took part.
Terming wheat the “lifeline of Pakistan’s agricultural economy,” the prime minister said the crop was not only the country’s staple food but also the primary source of income for millions of farmers. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring farmer welfare and national food security, calling growers the “backbone of the economy.”
PM Shehbaz said the wheat policy had been prepared through broad consultations with provincial governments, farmers’ associations, and the private sector, adding that the new framework was “based on consensus” and designed to balance farmer profits with consumer affordability.
Under the 2025–26 policy, the federal and provincial governments will maintain strategic reserves of about 6.2 million tonnes of wheat from the upcoming harvest. Procurement will be made at Rs3,500 per maund (40 kg)—a rate aligned with international import prices to ensure both market competitiveness and fair farmer returns.
A new National Food Security Committee, comprising representatives from all provinces, will oversee the policy’s implementation and meet weekly to monitor progress. The committee will report directly to the prime minister.
The PMO said the policy was designed to safeguard farmers’ interests, stabilize the market, and strengthen food security. “This measure will ensure fair prices, adequate reserves, and uninterrupted supply across the country,” the statement concluded.
Pakistan was ranked as the world’s eighth-largest wheat producer by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) last year as the country had produced 31.4 million tons of the crop that year, which amounted to 4 percent of the world’s total wheat production.
Agriculture contributes 24 percent to Pakistan’s gross domestic product, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The USDA has estimated Pakistan’s wheat production this year at 28.9 million tons from 9.1 million hectares till August, 8 percent down from last year’s 31.4 million tons.
