PM Sets Wheat Price 2027 at Rs4,500 per Maund, Rs1,000 Higher Than Last Year
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday fixed the indicative wheat price 2027 at Rs4,500 per maund (40kg), a Rs1,000 increase over last year’s procurement price of Rs3,500. The announcement, made through a Prime Minister’s Office statement, comes ahead of the wheat sowing season and as flour prices remain under pressure.
What the prime minister announced
The PMO said the price had been raised by Rs1,000 per maund “in view of the increase in production costs”. The decision was taken with the guidance of President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, and in consultation with the chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh, Maryam Nawaz and Murad Ali Shah.
The prime minister thanked Maryam Nawaz for her proposals during the consultative process and Murad Ali Shah for his cooperation. The statement said the move was aimed at promoting agriculture, protecting farmers’ economic interests, and increasing wheat production in the coming year.
A relief move for farmers hit by rising costs
Shehbaz Sharif said the objective was to give farmers relief amid rising production and fuel costs, as well as inflation pressure. “Providing farmers with an incentive to cultivate wheat is among the key objectives of the decision,” he said, adding that he hoped the new price would help growers cover their production costs and earn a reasonable profit.
The prime minister acknowledged that farmers had faced financial difficulties in recent years because of inflation and rising agricultural expenses. He noted that Pakistan had been forced to import wheat in each of the last two years, and said the higher price would strengthen food security, encourage local production, and bring stability to the agriculture sector.
The PMO expects the decision to renew growers’ interest in wheat cultivation, leading to more sowing in the upcoming season and higher domestic output. It described the move as a milestone in improving farmers’ economic well-being and making the country more self-reliant in meeting its food needs.
Wheat Price 2027: why the Rs4,500 figure falls short of the Rs5,000 demand
The Rs4,500 rate remains Rs500 below what growers asked for. Last month, the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad demanded a Rs5,000 per 40kg support price and warned that farmers might skip wheat sowing for the next season if the government delayed announcing crop policies. The association said growers could not afford balanced fertiliser use because they were not recovering their production costs.
That protest context matters. Farmers have staged nationwide demonstrations pressing for the Rs5,000 rate, so the government’s decision gives them 90 per cent of what they sought — a compromise that may or may not be enough to change sowing decisions.
Wheat price 2027 vs procurement price: what “indicative” means
An indicative or illustrative price is a signal from the government about what wheat should be worth, not always a binding rate at which the state must buy the grain. A procurement price, by contrast, is the rate at which government agencies purchase wheat for official reserves and release stocks into the market.
That distinction is why farmers watch what happens next. In early October, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah approved the release of government wheat at Rs12,500 per 100kg bag from October 15 to stabilise flour prices and keep the staple available in the province. Whether the new Rs4,500 signal translates into actual government buying at or near that level will shape how farmers respond.
What it could mean for flour prices
Households already feel the pinch. A 20kg flour bag in Lahore now costs Rs3,133 after a Rs833 weekly jump, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data, with Karachi the costliest city at Rs3,540. A higher indicative wheat price supports growers, but it also risks feeding into retail flour prices unless government releases and market supply stay steady. The balance between farmer relief and consumer prices is now the test of this policy.
