The government has procured 41 lakh tonne wheat at the minimum support price directly from farmers so far in the ongoing 2023-24 marketing year (April-March), down 18 per cent from the year-ago period, a top FCI official said on Monday.

Speaking to PTI, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena said the procurement has been less due to delay in harvesting and lower arrivals in mandis, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan because of the recent unseasonal rains.

The untimely rains had led to damage to the crop in some parts of the wheat-growing states, thus deteriorating the quality of the grain in few places.

However, the government has eased procurement norms for wheat in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -- in the interest of farmers, he said.

"Wheat procurement has reached 41 lakh tonne till April 16 of the current marketing year, slightly lower than 50 lakh tonne in the year-ago period," Meena said.

The government procurement will pick up in the coming days as wheat arrivals are better now in Punjab and Haryana mandis, he added.

FCI is the national nodal agency that undertakes wheat procurement at the minimum support price along with state agencies. The procurement is done not only to protect the interest of farmers but also to maintain buffer stock to be used for various welfare schemes.

Procurement target

The government has set a procurement target of 34.2 million tonne for the 2023-24 marketing year, as against the actual procurement of 19 million tonne in 2022-23.

Last year, wheat procurement had declined due to fall in production owing to heatwave.

However, wheat production this year is projected to be at record 112.18 million tonne and the government is confident of achieving this target notwithstanding the impact of recent untimely rains.

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