iGrain India - New Delhi . The pace of government procurement of wheat for the central pool during the current year is faster than last year.
Last year, a total of 262 lakh tonnes of wheat was procured by the government during the entire Rabi marketing season whereas in the current season, 262.48 lakh tonnes of wheat has already been purchased and the procurement process is still going on.
Data from the Union Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution shows that till May 23, 2024, wheat worth Rs 59,715 crore was purchased, benefiting 22.31 lakh farmers.
The five states that contribute the most wheat to the central pool include Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
According to official data, during the current Rabi marketing season, 124.26 lakh tonnes of wheat has been purchased in Punjab, 71.49 lakh tonnes in Haryana, 47.78 lakh tonnes in Madhya Pradesh, 9.66 lakh tonnes in Rajasthan and 9.07 lakh tonnes in Uttar Pradesh.
At the beginning of the season, the Food Ministry had set a target of purchasing 300-310 lakh tonnes of wheat this time, which was later increased to 372.90 lakh tonnes.
The case of three states looks strange. In Uttar Pradesh, the Food Ministry wanted to keep the wheat procurement target small, but the state government not only announced the target of purchasing 60 lakh tonnes but also announced to start its procurement from March 1 instead of April 1.
But it did not yield any positive results. The only good thing is that wheat procurement has increased slightly from last year but is still about 51 lakh tonnes behind the set target.
In Madhya Pradesh, compared to the fixed target of 80 lakh tonnes, the actual procurement has not yet reached even 50 lakh tonnes, while the farmers there are getting an additional Rs 125 per quintal in addition to the fixed minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2275 per quintal for wheat. Bonus is also being given.
A similar bonus has been announced in Rajasthan too, where against the fixed target of 20 lakh tonnes, less than 10 lakh tonnes of wheat could be purchased.