Multiple social media users are sharing an image of a poster allegedly issued by the Punjab government, warning farmers that selling wheat above the government-set price of Rs2,675 per 40 kg could lead to three years of imprisonment.

The claim is misleading. The poster in circulation is from August 2024. No such policy has been enforced by the Punjab government this year.

Claim

A viral post on Facebook from March 18 claims that farmers selling wheat above Rs2,675 per 40 kg will face three years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs500,000.

The post attributes this order to Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

The image accompanying the post appears to be an official banner from the Punjab government, stating that the price of a 40 kg wheat bag in Bahawalnagar has been fixed at Rs2,675. It further warns that violating the rate or failing to sell wheat at the government-sanctioned price could lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both.

The post has been shared over 217 times and liked 236 times.

Similar claims were shared widely on X (formerly known as Twitter) here and here.

Fact

The viral poster is from last August and it is not recent, confirms four government officials in Punjab.

Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti, the secretary of price control and commodity management department (PCCMD), an administrative department tasked with price regulation in Punjab, told Geo Fact Check over the phone: “The poster is from last year.”

Bhatti clarified that wheat pricing follows two categories. One is the Minimum Support Price (MSP) which is announced when the government procures wheat from farmers.

“But the government of Punjab has not yet made any decision of procurement yet,” he added, “Due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities, the [government] will not set an MSP this year.”

Second is the Release Price, which is the rate at which the government sells its stored wheat. Below is a notification issued by the Price Control and Commodities Management Department on March 21, which has set the release price of 40 kg of wheat at Rs2,900.

It must be mentioned here that the provincial government passed the Punjab Price Control of Essential Commodities Act 2024 last year, which allows it to set the prices of all essential commodities, including wheat. 

The law restricts farmers from selling or reselling any essential commodity at a price higher than the one fixed by its Price Control Council while penalties for violators include imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of five hundred thousand rupees.

Despite the law, Bhatti argues due to the conditions set by the IMF the provincial government does not plan to intervene in the open market at all this year.

“Yes, the law gives us the power to intervene, but it will be a last resort—only if the market is completely out of control,” he said, “But the department does not expect things to go that far.”

Additionally, Adnan Badar, the deputy director of food department in Bahawalpur division, also confirmed to Geo Fact Check over the phone that the poster circulating online is from last year August.

He also said that he had been told that the market will now be deregulated after talks with the IMF and the provincial government is not planning to purchase any wheat this year.

Faisal Shareef, the district food controller of Bahawalnagar and Muhammad Asad, the incharge at deputy commissioner office Bahawalnagar control room, also called the posters old and not recent.

Verdict: Misleading. The viral poster is old, and the Punjab government has not issued any such directive this year.

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