Wheat procurement has surged 41 per cent to 24.66 million tonnes (mt) as of May 7 in the ongoing procurement period (April-June) against 17.53 mt a year ago, according to the latest official data. The procurement target has been fixed at 34.15 mt for the current season.
Out of 28.7 mt targetted from three States — 13.2 mt in Punjab, 8 mt in MP and 7.5 mt in Haryana — nearly 85 per cent has been achieved, so far. The government has to ensure the deficit in other States is covered, as only 7 per cent of the targetted 5.45 mt has been purchased there.
Rajasthan, which was initially lagging, has reported good progress in the past 10-12 days as procurement in the States reached 2.32 lakh tonnes against the targetted 0.5 mt. The State’s chief secretary held a meeting on April 24, when the purchase was only about 25,000 tonnes, with all stakeholders and directed all agencies to procure from those tenant farmers who do not have proof of land lease as many were getting deprived of the MSP since it is not documented.
He asked FCI to increase procurement centres from 166 opened until April 23, sources said. The Chief Secretary asked officials to procure from those farmers showing land lease agreements done after procurement began.
U.P. procurement down 22%
Punjab has shown a 25.2 per cent increase in purchases at 11.73 mt as of May 7 from the year-ago level of 9.37 mt. Haryana has reported a 51.4 per cent jump at 6.16 mt from 4.07 mt a year ago and in Madhya Pradesh, wheat purchase is up by 64.4 per cent at 6.38 mt, from 3.88 mt.
Procurement in Uttar Pradesh, the largest wheat-producer, reported a 22.6 per cent dip at 0.15 mt from 0.2 mt, official data show. But Rajasthan has contributed 0.23 mt to the Central Pool stock so far, against only 758 tonnes in the year-ago period.
Wheat procurement in the country dropped to a 15-year low of 18.79 mt in the 2022-23, prompting the government to ban export last year and it still continues.