Overview
- Federal officials detailed a plan to buy about 6.5 million tons through 21 prequalified private firms, with the government paying storage and awards going to the lowest bidders, with operations expected to begin in the last week of April.
- The government fixed a wheat support price of Rs3,500 per 40kg to steady the market and protect farmers, with national output this season estimated near 29 million tons.
- Sindh will start procuring one million tons on April 1 at Rs3,500 per 40kg through 109 centers, restricting sales to roughly 330,000 registered Hari Card growers and paying Rs60 per bag directly via Sindh Bank.
- The ECC’s February 24 approval to sell 0.5 million tons of PASSCO stocks set reserve prices at Rs4,150 per 40kg for local wheat and Rs3,800 for imported wheat, creating a higher benchmark than the support price for the new crop.
- Parliament’s food security panel warned that slow federal buying would favor middlemen, noting early Sindh harvest sales around Rs2,700 per 40kg and urging strict adherence to the support price to reach a broad base of farmers.