Pakistan : PKI urges govt to restore wheat support price at Rs4,702 per 40kg
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad has urged the government to restore the wheat support price to Rs4,702 per 40kg and adopt nutrient-based subsidies for all phosphatic fertilizers, warning that ineffective policies could lead to a three-million-tonne wheat shortfall.
LAHORE: Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has urged the government to restore the wheat support price at Rs4,702 per 40kg and introduce a nutrient-based subsidy on all phosphatic fertilizers instead of limiting it to DAP, warning that the country may face a wheat shortfall of around three million tons.
In a letter addressed to the federal and provincial governments, PKI President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar said the wheat crop had suffered badly during the past three years due to ineffective government policies, putting both farmers’ livelihoods and the country’s food security at risk.
He said the anticipated wheat shortfall of around three million tons could force the government to import the commodity, requiring approximately USD 1.2 billion in foreign exchange.
Khokhar maintained that the Gulf conflict, disruptions to maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Russia-Ukraine war had pushed up global fertilizer and commodity prices, besides increasing shipping lead times and freight rates.
He said Pakistani farmers had already suffered losses of around Rs2,200 billion during the last three years due to the drastic decline in wheat prices caused by ineffective policies. As a result, farmers failed to produce the wheat required to meet domestic food requirements during the 2025-26 crop cycle.
He added that the Gulf conflict, which began in February 2026, had further increased farmers’ input costs, particularly due to unprecedented increases in phosphatic fertilizer and diesel prices and higher electricity tariffs for agricultural tube-wells.
According to Khokhar, the wheat support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg was approved by the federal Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in March 2023, while the current net cost of producing one maund of wheat stood at Rs3,761.
He said adding a 25 percent profit margin, in line with the global benchmark, brought the realistic price of wheat to Rs4,702 per 40kg.
“At this price, the farmer will not only be willing to invest in the wheat crop but will also bring land back into wheat cultivation that was left fallow or allocated to other crops last year,” he said.
To maximise wheat acreage and achieve the target of 31 million tons of production during the upcoming Rabi season, Khokhar proposed restoration of the wheat support price mechanism at Rs4,702 per maund.
He also called upon the government to undertake wheat procurement itself to safeguard national food security and farmers’ livelihoods.
He stressed that the Prime Minister and the Minister for National Food Security should make a clear announcement by the end of August regarding restoration of the wheat support price and procurement policy to motivate farmers ahead of the Rabi season.
On fertilizers, the PKI president said that if the government intended to provide a subsidy on phosphatic fertilizers, it should be nutrient-based and applicable to all phosphatic fertilizers rather than DAP alone.
He pointed out that almost 80 percent of other high-value phosphatic fertilizers were also used by farmers to improve crop yields, particularly wheat. Khokhar recalled that on March 17, 2022, the ECC had approved a fertilizer subsidy covering all phosphatic fertilizers rather than restricting it to DAP.
He warned that limiting the subsidy to DAP alone could create difficulties for both farmers and the government, fuel black marketing and increase foreign exchange expenditure on additional DAP imports.
He argued that the country had sufficient supplies of other phosphatic fertilizers to meet the requirements of Rabi 2026-27 without creating uncertainty for farmers or the government.
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Source : Business Recorder
