In 2026, Pakistan's Punjab shifted wheat procurement toward private companies, but Kasur district had too few purchase centres and staff arrived late. Dawn reported that farmers reached centres hours before company employees and sometimes waited one or two days. Complaints about delayed payment and deductions from the measured crop further discouraged participation.
What distinguishes this wait is that the service point is not continuously present at the head of the line. Farmers can deliver wheat to a designated centre, yet no transaction begins until the buyer's staff arrives. A place officially created for procurement thus becomes a holding ground for farmers, vehicles and grain.