Key Points
- Cabinet approval expected before the federal budget
- Policy includes mechanisation, strategic reserves and seed reforms
- Authorities plan stronger federal-provincial coordination and market monitoring
- The government aims to reduce supply disruptions and stabilise wheat prices
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has finalised its first-ever five-year National Wheat Policy for 2026-30, seeking to move beyond short-term crisis management toward a coordinated long-term framework for food security, farmer protection and market stability.
The National Assembly was informed on Friday that the policy had been prepared in consultation with provincial governments and would be presented to the federal cabinet for approval before the upcoming federal budget.
Parliamentary Secretary Farah Naz told lawmakers during the question hour that the policy formed part of a broader agricultural reform strategy focused on mechanisation, export competitiveness and productivity enhancement.
She said the government’s action plan for the next fiscal year included a comprehensive agricultural mechanisation roadmap and the establishment of a National Agri Trade and Food Safety Authority to improve exports and align farm products with international standards.
Farah Naz also said a National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority had been established to modernise the seed sector through improved regulation and the promotion of high-yield and climate-resilient crop varieties.
Details emerging from earlier government briefings indicate the wheat framework is designed to strengthen strategic reserves, improve supply chain monitoring and enhance coordination between federal and provincial authorities.
Officials have also discussed digital traceability systems and a reform package to tighten market oversight.
The policy is expected to maintain strategic wheat reserves, jointly managed by federal and provincial authorities, with officials earlier indicating reserve targets of around 6.2 million tonnes.
The framework also seeks to reduce disruptions to wheat movement across provinces and to encourage greater private-sector participation in procurement and storage operations.
Pakistan’s wheat sector has faced repeated volatility in recent years due to floods, heatwaves, changing weather patterns, rising input costs and policy uncertainty.
Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain told a Senate committee this week that adverse climate conditions had affected wheat production and prevented the country from achieving this year’s initial output target.
Wheat is Pakistan’s main staple crop and remains central to inflation management and food security.
Previous governments largely relied on annual procurement decisions and emergency interventions.
However, officials say the new 2026-30 framework is intended to provide policy continuity and a predictable structure for production, storage, pricing and distribution.
Pakistan gradually moves toward liberalising wheat markets under economic restructuring commitments related to the International Monetary Fund conditionality, including reduced state intervention and expanded private-sector participation.
