ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that wheat was available in abundant quantities to meet domestic needs, while vowing no leniency for hoarders, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Presiding over the first National Agricultural and Food Security Council (NAFSC) meeting, the prime minister said that wheat was available in abundant quantities to meet domestic needs.
“No leniency will be shown to those hoarding wheat,” the PMO quoted PM Shehbaz as saying. “It is essential to determine the fair price of wheat before sowing so that farmers receive appropriate compensation for their labour,” the prime minister said.
“We want farmers to get the fair price for wheat and for consumers to have affordable wheat,” he added.
Says wheat available in abundance for domestic needs
The prime minister stated that the decision regarding the price of wheat would be made in consultation with the provinces.
“The consultation with the provinces will be completed soon, and the price of wheat will be announced shortly,” he said.
The prime minister termed agriculture the “backbone of the national economy” and said it could set the country’s economy on the path to growth in the short term.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Sindh Food Minister Makhdoom Mehboob uz Zaman, and relevant senior officials also participated in the meeting, according to the statement.
During the meeting, the prime minister commended CM Maryam for taking commendable steps such as farmers’ development, aquaculture, shrimp farming, and providing direct subsidies to farmers through the Kisan Card.
The Sindh chief minister was also “working day and night for the development of farmers and providing them with facilities”, PM Shehbaz said.
The prime minister noted that the livestock sector also had vast potential to increase national exports, noting that measures were being taken to boost exports of Pakistani halal meat.
He said the federal government would “provide all kinds of support to the provinces for the development of agriculture”.
“Providing fertilisers, quality seeds, modern machinery, and equipment and technical capabilities for better water utilisation to farmers at low cost is the top priority,” the prime minister said.
He said that ensuring fair prices to farmers for their crops, particularly small- and medium-scale farmers, was a priority as well.
The Punjab chief minister and Sindh food minister shed light on the measures taken by the provincial governments for the development of farmers in their provinces, the PMO said.
It said that the briefings were also given at the meeting on measures for the development of agriculture in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026
