India: Wheat procurement proceeding faster than last year, 310-320 LMT procurement estimated: Government sources

Government sources have told CNBC TV18 that wheat procurement is proceeding faster than last year. 12 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat was procured till April 8, compared to less than 10 lakh MT procured till the same day last year. The Wheat procurement estimate for the current year is between 310 to 320 LMT. Till the last week, 6 LMT wheat had been procured mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. For the ongoing 2024-25 marketing year, the Centre has already indicated that it wants to significantly increase wheat purchases from these non-traditional states, and has set a target of a seven-fold rise in procurement to 50 LMT from these states.

While Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar collectively contributed only 6.7 LMT to the central pool during the 2023-24 marketing year (from April to March), the Department of Food and Public Distribution is aiming to meet 16% of its wheat procurement target of 310 lakh tonne from these 3 states this year. Last week, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said that the Centre is working with these three states to curb gaps and increase wheat procurement, adding that a rise in wheat procurement from non-traditional states will help restore wheat allocation of wheat under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and other welfare schemes, where wheat’s allocation was reduced from 230 LMT to 184 LMT in the past two years due to lower procurement.

Usually undertaken by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Government cooperatives NAFED and NCCF have also been asked to procure 5 LMT wheat apiece at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹2,275 per quintal in the current year. Highlighting steps like the advancement of the procurement window, a 48-hour transfer of MSP and drying facilities, aimed at ramping up wheat procurement, the Secretary had clarified that traders haven’t been stopped by the Union Government to avoid buying wheat from farmers till the Centre completes its procurement exercise.

On April 1, IMD’s forecast indicated that there was no heat wave warning for wheat-producing states except areas in Madhya Pradesh where 90% of the harvest has already taken place, and no adverse impact was expected on the wheat crop. While an advisory was issued to states having low water storage in reservoirs, water storage has been noted at 84% of last year’s levels, varying from 113% of last year’s levels in Eastern India’s reservoirs to 59% of last year’s levels in Southern India’s reservoirs.

Tags: wheat, India, purchases, procurement, estimate