Rabi season: MSP for wheat will be above Rs4,000/40kg, says food minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Thursday that the minimum support price (MSP), or procurement price, for wheat would be above Rs 4,000 per 40 kg in the Rabi season 2026-27, a move aimed at encouraging farmers to increase wheat cultivation, ensuring fair returns and safeguarding national food security.

The minister said this while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research, which met with MNA Syed Hussain Tariq in the chair. The meeting reviewed the proposed National Wheat Policy 2026–2030 and proposed subsidy models for fertilizer.

However, the committee unanimously urged the government to fix the wheat procurement price at Rs 5,000 per 40 kg for the next Rabi season.

The committee stressed that the National Wheat Policy 2026–2030 must be finalized and the procurement price be announced well ahead of the wheat sowing season.

The Minister said that his ministry has finalized the proposed National Wheat Policy 2026-30 after consultations with the provincial governments and other relevant stakeholders and has submitted it to the Prime Minister’s office for final approval. He said that the wheat sector, which was previously highly regulated, has been deregulated under the Interim National Wheat Policy (INWP) 2025-26.

Under the deregulated framework, the federal government is no longer envisaged to undertake public procurement or announce a Minimum Support Price (MSP). However, to provide a market signal and encourage the farming community to remain engaged in wheat cultivation, an illustrative price, based primarily on the international parity price, is being considered for the upcoming Rabi season, he said.

Hussain said that farmers had not received an adequate price for wheat in the past two years and that the government was now introducing a National Wheat Policy. During the last two years, wheat growers suffered a lot, he said, adding that next year farmers will be given a better price for wheat. The minister also said that the government would provide a subsidy to farmers on DAP fertilizers. Due to effective measures of the government, prices of DAP fertilisers remained stable in the country, he said.

The committee stressed the need for a uniform subsidy programme across the country, noting differences in approaches of the provincial governments. The minister informed the committee that Punjab was considering support through the Kissan Card, Sindh was assisting farmers having up to 25 acres, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be providing an in-kind subsidy of Rs. 5,000.

The chairman of the parliamentary panel said that increasing wheat procurement price would help the country to produce more wheat than domestic consumption and move towards exporting wheat again. He said that India has signed a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom and warned that Pakistani agricultural products could face greater competition as a result. He said that the Ministry of Commerce needs to make concerted efforts to sign free trade agreements with European countries and the UK.

The Minister said that discussions were also underway with Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding rice exports. He said that free trade arrangements with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were expected to create further export opportunities.

The committee called for strict action against hoarders involved in the artificial price increases of DAP and other fertilizers and urged the Ministry to take timely decisions on agricultural policies and support measures.

The Committee also considered the Seed (Amendment) Bill, 2026. With the consent of the Minister, consideration of the Bill was deferred until the next meeting.

MNAs Waseem Qadir, Choudhary Iftikhar Nazir, Abdul Qadir Khan, Nazir Ahmed Bhugio, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, Syed Abrar Ali Shah, Zulfiqar Ali Behan, Usman Ali, and Sanjay Perwani, and senior officials of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research also attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026