Food in Pakistan is usually discussed in cultural or emotional terms. What people eat is linked to habit, tradition, and affordability, while the deeper economic forces shaping these choices remain largely unseen. Yet, food is also an outcome of markets, policies, and corporate decisions.

Viewed through a corporate window, Pakistan’s food plate reflects decades of incentive structures, subsidy regimes, and investment patterns that have quietly shaped both production and consumption. Understanding this perspective is essential if food awareness is to be raised without moralising, preaching, or medicalising everyday choices.

At the centre of Pakistan’s food economy lies wheat. Its dominance is often justified through tradition and necessity, but its true strength comes from policy design. Government procurement, minimum support prices, and subsidised flour distribution have institutionalised wheat as the most reliable and affordable staple.

These interventions were critical in addressing food insecurity during periods of shortage. Over time, however, they have also created a narrow consumption base. When one crop is consistently protected, markets respond predictably: farmers allocate land to wheat, processors invest in wheat-based products, and retailers prioritise wheat-derived foods. Dietary uniformity, in this sense, is not a cultural inevitability but an economic outcome.

From a corporate window, this concentration represents both risk and inefficiency. Climate variability, groundwater depletion, declining soil fertility, and rising input costs increasingly threaten wheat productivity. Yet, the policy response has largely been to preserve existing arrangements rather than diversify the food base.

Gradual adjustments such as reducing procurement bias, supporting pulse cultivation, and investing in vegetable logistics can crowd in private capital and encourage innovation

An economy that relies too heavily on a single staple exposes itself........

© Dawn Business