Pakistan Farmers Demand Wheat Support Price Amid Rising Costs

Pakistani farmers are demanding that the government set a support price for wheat at 5,000 Pakistani rupees per 40 kilograms. Khalid Khokhar, president of the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad farmers' association, called on authorities to act quickly as wheat sowing is due to begin soon. If no policy for the crop is announced, he warned that farmers may not sow wheat next season.

Khokhar said at a press conference that farmers cannot ensure balanced fertilizer use because they are not recovering their production costs. He claimed that DAP consumption has fallen from 2.39 million tonnes to 1.25 million tonnes and linked rising input costs and insufficient income to young people's reluctance to choose agriculture as a profession.

The association also noted that higher agricultural product prices in previous years contributed to better yields, but farmers are now struggling due to the delay in announcing a policy for wheat. Khokhar urged the government to maintain sufficient sugar stocks for domestic consumption until November and export the surplus to avoid losses for producers.