LAHORE: To stabilise wheat procurement and support farmers, 11 prequalified companies will begin purchasing up to three million metric tonnes of wheat directly from the farmers from the first week of April under a government-backed scheme.

Sources said that the initial phase of the wheat procurement drive would commence in South Punjab and the purchased wheat would be stored in warehouses of the Punjab government.

Officials said that 11 companies were prequalified during the technical bidding involving flour mills and traders, while the food department disqualified five traders.

The financial bids of the prequalified companies are expected to be opened in the coming days. During the financial bidding phase, companies will submit offers specifying the quantity of wheat they will procure and the minimum level of financial support they require from the government. The government has set a procurement target of 2.5m tonnes for these companies.

The companies that qualified in the technical bidding include Boota Brothers, Ali Imran, Haji Sons, Chapal Traders, LDC, N&M, Ravel Flour, Zulnoorain, Zariya and SBRS. According to officials, these companies will purchase wheat directly from the farmers at an estimated rate of around Rs3,500 per 40kg, raising expectations of better returns for growers.

In addition, under the Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI), another 500,000 tonnes of wheat will be procured from the farmers across Punjab.

The government maintains that this initiative will not only benefit the farmers through improved pricing but also ensure adequate wheat reserves across the province.

Meanwhile, Kisan Board Pakistan Vice President Amanullah Chattha has criticised the government for not yet clearing the situation about official wheat procurement though the crop is ready to be harvested within days.

In a statement, he says that the farming community is disturbed by the government’s silence about the wheat procurement.

Referring to the minimum support price for the crop this season, he says Passco is offering old wheat stocks at a rate of Rs4,150 per 40kg, while the farmers are to be offered Rs3,500 for the new crop. He recalls that n the absence of the government sector during the procurement time last season, the growers had been selling their produce to the private sector at Rs2,200 per 40kg while the same was later marketed by the businesses at a rate of Rs4,700 per 40kg, in sheer exploitation of both the farmers and consumers.

Mr Chattha regrets that the Punjab government ignored even the Lahore High Court orders about fixing a fair minimum support price of wheat after taking the farmers into confidence.

He demanded that the government announce a solid mechanism for wheat procurement at a rate over Rs4,000 per 40kg, keeping in view the skyrocketing farm input prices and national needs of food security.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2026