The Sindh cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs500 cut in the wheat release price, from Rs5,000 to Rs4,500 per 40 kilograms, following a dip in market prices, and directed flour mills to pass on the benefit to consumers. The decision, announced after the cabinet meeting, is aimed at bringing down flour prices in the province at a time when food costs remain a central concern for households.
Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon told a press conference after the cabinet meeting that the decision would bring down flour prices by Rs15 per kilogram. That figure gives a concrete sense of the impact the government expects from the cut in the release price. If flour mills pass on the benefit as directed, consumers should see a reduction in the price they pay for flour, which is a staple food across Sindh and the country as a whole.
The wheat release price is the price at which the government releases wheat from its stocks to flour mills. A reduction in that price lowers the cost of the raw material for mills, and the government’s direction that mills pass on the benefit is intended to ensure that the saving reaches consumers rather than being absorbed elsewhere in the supply chain. The cabinet’s decision followed a dip in market prices, which suggests that the government is responding to conditions in the wider wheat market rather than acting in isolation from them.
Alongside the wheat decision, the cabinet also approved additional funds of Rs502.409 million for five public health engineering and rural development schemes in Jamshoro. Those schemes include the main water supply scheme for Sehwan. The allocation points to the cabinet’s wider agenda on Tuesday, which extended beyond food prices to infrastructure and public services in a district where water supply is a long-standing issue.
The inclusion of the Sehwan water supply scheme among the funded projects is significant. Water supply schemes in rural and semi-urban areas affect daily life directly, influencing health, sanitation and the ability of communities to meet their basic needs. The approval of additional funds for five schemes in Jamshoro therefore represents a concrete investment in public health engineering and rural development in that district.
The CM House statement on the cabinet meeting also said that the cabinet fixed 15 November as the start date for the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season. The start date for the crushing season is an important decision for the sugar industry and for sugarcane growers, because it determines when mills begin processing the new crop. The cabinet also directed the agriculture, supply and prices department to hold stakeholder consultations before finalising the support price for sugarcane.
What happens next will be watched most closely in the flour market. The key test of Tuesday’s wheat decision will be whether flour prices do fall by the Rs15 per kilogram indicated by the senior minister, and whether that reduction is visible to consumers in markets across the province. The government’s direction to flour mills is clear, but its effect will depend on compliance and on market conditions in the coming days and weeks.
For sugarcane growers, the next step will be the stakeholder consultations directed by the cabinet, followed by the finalisation of the support price ahead of the crushing season beginning on 15 November. That timetable gives the agriculture, supply and prices department a window in which to consult and to set a price before mills begin crushing.
For Jamshoro, the next step will be the implementation of the five schemes for which additional funds have been approved, including the main water supply scheme for Sehwan. The release of Rs502.409 million is a commitment, but its impact will be measured by progress on the ground.
Taken together, Tuesday’s cabinet decisions cover food prices, rural infrastructure, the sugarcane season and a public holiday. The wheat price cut is the decision most likely to be felt immediately by households, but the other decisions also touch on livelihoods and public services in Sindh.
Source: Dawn, 4 November 2026
