Pakistan’s cotton output misses target by 30%, rice exceeds target by 11%, wheat target proposed at 33 million tonnes

Profit by Pakistan Today reported that the Federal Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Rana Tanveer Hussain, proposed a wheat production target of 33 million tonnes for the Rabi 2026-27 season. Final Rabi targets were deferred until the government announces a wheat price benchmark, with sowing approaching. Cotton is estimated at 6.7 million bales, nearly 30 per cent below the 9.64 million bale target, whereas rice reached 10.182 million tonnes, 11 per cent above its goal.

Sugarcane is provisionally put at 97.2 million tonnes, while maize reached 9.97 million tonnes and mungbean 171,000 tonnes, all above their targets. Urea supply for 2026-27 is projected at 3.95 million tonnes against offtake of about 3.5 million tonnes, but DAP faces a 72,000 tonne gap that private-sector imports are meant to fill. The Indus River System Authority warned of a water shortage of roughly 22 per cent for Punjab and Sindh in the coming Rabi season.

Wheat seed supply covers only about 51 per cent of the 1.191 million tonne requirement, with Sindh at 23 per cent and Balochistan at 13 per cent. The State Bank of Pakistan has set an indicative agricultural credit target of Rs3.062 trillion for FY27, about 19 per cent above last year's Rs2.573 trillion. The prime minister has formed a committee, including provincial and banking representatives, to recommend steps for adequate wheat output.