Pakistan moves wheat policy toward market-based system

December 16, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan has begun coordinating federal and provincial implementation of the Interim National Wheat Policy 2025–26, a framework that shifts wheat procurement from a state-led model to a market-based system.

The coordination focuses on outlining procurement, pricing, and reserve management for the upcoming wheat crop, according to the press release.

The first meeting of the National Wheat Oversight Committee brought together provincial food and agriculture secretaries and senior federal officials to align procurement mechanisms, indicative pricing, and strategic reserve requirements under the new policy.

The discussions focused on reducing government intervention in wheat markets while maintaining food security amid fiscal pressures and changing supply dynamics.

Under the policy, the federal government plans to step back from routine wheat procurement, allowing private traders and millers to play a larger role in buying, storing, and trading wheat.

Provinces will be responsible for maintaining strategic wheat reserves based on population needs, a move aimed at preventing supply shocks and price volatility.

Government procurement and subsidy operations have historically created fiscal and quasi-fiscal costs, particularly through stockholding losses and financing requirements. The new framework seeks to limit those costs while allowing market signals to guide pricing.

The discussion also included using market-consistent indicative prices instead of fixed support prices, a shift that could affect farmgate rates, flour prices, and private sector participation ahead of the 2026 harvest.

The policy allows provinces to design targeted social protection measures to cushion vulnerable consumers if market prices rise.

The federal food ministry said coordination with provinces will continue to ensure timely procurement planning, reserve management, and private sector engagement as the country prepares for the next wheat cycle. 

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