Federal govt is no longer setting wheat prices, pulls plug on Passco
ISLAMABAD: Chaos looms large for Pakistan's wheat farmers as the government told the National Assembly on Friday that it is officially pulling the plug on Passco – the state-run grain procurement giant – and ditching wheat price controls, setting the stage for a free-market frenzy.
Responding to a grilling during question hour in National Assembly, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry stunned the lawmakers by confirming that the federal government is no longer setting wheat prices – leaving farmers at the mercy of the open market.
With wheat now tossed into the jaws of market forces, the once-mighty Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) is getting the axe – a move the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle slammed, warning it will leave farmers exposed to ruthless middlemen and global grain cartels ready to pounce.
Pakistan misses wheat production target
'When the government isn't buying wheat, there's no point in Passco. It's being wound up,' Chaudhry declared, adding that a committee and consultant have been appointed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to settle the agency's assets 'fairly and transparently.'
However, the lawmakers from both the opposition and even the government's own allies especially the PPP didn't buy the sunny spin – slamming the Passco closure and warning it would unleash wheat cartels and wreak havoc on farmers.
'This free-for-all policy is a recipe for disaster,' thundered Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, pointing to the chaos that erupted when a previous caretaker regime, led by the then caretaker chief minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi (now moonlighting in the Interior Ministry), had to import wheat, exposing the country's food supply to foreign whims.
'Closing Passco will hurt our farmers. They won't get fair rates in the open market. We need a clear mechanism to support them – not abandon them,' he maintained.
Jakhrani wasn't the only one sounding the alarm. PPP's Hina Rabbani Khar – herself from a feudal farming family in Sheikhupura, Punjab – ripped into the government for 'giving relief to European farmers by importing wheat' while leaving Pakistan's own growers in the dust. 'It's clear – this government has no coherent policy for our farmers.'
Dr Chaudhary, speaking on behalf of the Ministry for Food Security, tried to douse the fiery debate by tossing out some cold, hard numbers, all while repeatedly assuring the furious lawmakers that axing Passco would ultimately benefit the farmers.
He revealed that the cost of growing wheat per acre in 2023-24 shot up to a staggering Rs114,809, while the official support price was stuck at just Rs2,300-2,400 per 40kg – far below what farmers needed to survive.
'That price wasn't just unfair – it was unsustainable,' he admitted. 'So the government backed off, letting market forces take over to ensure farmers get better rates.'
He also revealed that a new wheat policy is in the works for next year to attract private investment in the crop supply chain – but whether that will shield small farmers from price shocks remains to be seen.
Adding fuel to the fire, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Aslam Gumman, a pensioned brigadier-turned-politician from Sialkot, warned that scrapping Passco could invite wheat cartels to corner the market.
'Passco handles billions in procurement. Shutting it down without airtight checks will disrupt supply – and manipulators will jump in,' he warned.
Meanwhile, Minister for Water Resources Mueen Wattoo announced that rehabilitation of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project will begin soon, once the final probe into its collapsed tunnels is in. He promised the fixes would be done in two years.
Minister for Housing and Works Riaz Hussain Pirzada claimed that housing schemes are being fast-tracked, with public-private partnerships now driving the momentum.
And Minister of State for National Health Services Mukhtar Ahmad Malik insisted there's no medicine shortage in the country, adding that generic drug manufacturing is being ramped up to ease the burden on patients' wallets.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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