Kissan Ittehad wants Rs5,000 per 40kg wheat support price

LAHORE: Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Khokhar has called for a Rs5,000 support price per 40kg of wheat, warning that farmers may skip wheat cultivation in the upcoming season if the government delays announcing crop policies. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Khokhar stated that wheat sowing was about to commence, but the government had yet to release a policy for the crop.

He expressed concern that farmers were struggling to afford balanced fertilizers due to not recovering production costs, with DAP consumption dropping from 2.39 million tonnes to 1.25m tonnes. Khokhar suggested providing farmers with the international market price for wheat to achieve record production, noting that higher crop prices in recent years led to improved yields.

Sugarcane cultivation had increased by 16% to 2.454 million acres, with sugar production projected to rise by 25-30%. He urged the government to maintain adequate sugar reserves for domestic consumption until November, exporting any surplus to avoid losses for growers. Khokhar emphasized that farmers sought fair prices rather than subsidies, citing the discouragement of younger generations from pursuing agriculture due to rising input costs and insufficient returns.

He criticized the government for delaying decisions despite having crop and stock data, warning that the previous postponement of sugar exports burdened farmers and argued that food security should be the government's top priority. Another Kissan Ittehad leader, Mahmoodul Hassan Bukhari, criticized the government for its tardiness in making decisions, stating that the delay in exporting surplus sugar ultimately shifted losses onto farmers and predicted that farmers might refrain from sowing wheat if a policy was not announced soon.