PM proposes Rs4,500 wheat support price

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has put forward Rs4,500 per maund for Pakistan’s 2027 wheat crop, Rs1,000 above the figure cited for last year, Business Recorder reported. He said the proposal is intended to ease the burden on growers facing higher farm expenses and to make wheat production more financially viable.

The government hopes the higher benchmark will encourage farmers to plant more wheat and strengthen local supply, amid efforts to reduce dependence on imports after purchases from abroad over the previous two years. The announcement calls Rs4,500 an illustrative figure, however, and does not say whether it will become a guaranteed purchase rate or explain how payments would be secured. The proposal followed consultations involving the chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh, with Maryam Nawaz and Murad Ali Shah thanked for their input.