LAHORE: The Punjab government has reviewed the province’s Wheat Policy 2026 in a high-level meeting that underscored concerns over declining wheat production, the impact of sector deregulation and delays in implementing market-stabilisation initiatives. Official figures revealed that national wheat production for the 2024-25 season stood at 28.44 million metric tons (MMT), reflecting a 4.52 percent decline compared to the previous year, with the crop sown on 22.52 million acres, down six per cent in area. Punjab, which contributes the largest share, produced an estimated 22.05 MMT from 16.25 million acres. The Ministry of National Food Security & Research reported that total wheat availability at the close of the harvest was 33.52 MMT, marginally below the national requirement of 33.58 MMT. Provincial reserves include 0.89 MMT procured in 2023 and currently held by the Directorate General Food and the Price Control & Commodities Management Department.
Sources told The News, the meeting noted that for the 2024-25 season, the provincial government refrained from announcing a minimum support price (MSP) and made no public-sector procurement, in line with its policy of full deregulation. Instead, it introduced two measures aimed at market stability: the multi-year adoption of an Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) and commodity trading system for farmer financial inclusion, and the Chief Minister’s Special Financing Facility of Rs100 billion for flour millers and grain license-holders to maximise wheat purchases. Both initiatives, however, faced delays, with the financing facility remaining unimplemented during the 2025-26 season and the EWR system launched too late to achieve scale. Only 11 applicants were able to store a total of 1,588.56 metric tons in accredited private-sector warehouses, receiving EWRs during the season.
Senior officials acknowledged that the delayed execution of these schemes limited their intended impact, particularly at a time when market volatility and fluctuating input costs have placed farmers under financial strain. They observed that without timely financing arrangements and robust storage solutions, smallholder farmers in particular are compelled to make distress sales immediately after harvest, undermining both their incomes and the province’s capacity to manage grain flows strategically.
Participants also discussed broader structural issues affecting the wheat economy, including the need for stronger coordination between provincial and federal agencies to ensure accurate crop forecasting, market intelligence, and early intervention mechanisms. Suggestions were made for integrating digital platforms to connect farmers, warehouse operators, and financiers, thereby improving price transparency and reducing the influence of speculative hoarding.
In view of these constraints, the Price Control & Commodities Management Department has prepared a plan to outsource 947 vacant public-sector godowns, with a combined storage capacity of 0.976 MMT, to private operators for accreditation under the Collateral Management Companies regime, thereby enabling wider adoption of the Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWR) scheme. Proposals placed before the forum included initiating the outsourcing process through an expression of interest in August 2025 alongside the hiring of CMC firms, distributing “Baar Dana” worth Rs6 billion procured in 2023 and 2024 to farmers as a targeted subsidy, and determining the utilisation strategy for the 0.89 MMT wheat currently in government stocks.
The session, attended by the Minister for Agriculture Punjab, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Price Control & Commodities Management, Chief Secretary Punjab, secretaries of Agriculture, Finance, and Price Control departments, the President of the Bank of Punjab, and the Director General Food/Cane Commissioner, emphasized that timely execution of reforms and structured private-sector engagement will be critical to ensuring supply chain stability in a fully deregulated wheat market.