iGrain India - Chandigarh. The total arrival of wheat during the current Rabi marketing season in Punjab, the state that contributes the most of food grains to the central pool, has increased to above 132 lakh tonnes.
According to the data of the Food and Supplies Department of Punjab, 6 thousand tonnes of wheat reached the mandis of the state on May 26 this year, taking its total quantity in the entire season to the top level of 132.25 lakh tonnes.
The deadline for government procurement of wheat has been fixed as May 31, 2024. 1907 purchasing centers have been opened for the purchase of wheat in the state.
Wheat procurement in Punjab usually takes place between April 1 and May 31. Since it is the last week of May, the arrival of wheat has reduced significantly.
However, this time the Central Government has given free rein to the states to continue the process of purchasing wheat as long as it arrives.
The main reason for this spectacular arrival of wheat in Punjab is the strong increase in its average yield rate. This time in Punjab, Sangrur district saw the maximum arrival of 9.94 lakh tonnes of wheat.
After that, 9.70 lakh tonnes of wheat arrived in Patiala, 9.17 lakh tonnes in Muktsar, 9.10 lakh tonnes in Bhatinda and 8.64 lakh tonnes in Ferozepur district.
Out of the total arrival of 132.25 lakh tonnes, 124.60 lakh tonnes of wheat was purchased by government agencies and 7.40 lakh tonnes by private firms.
Last year, government agencies had purchased 125.87 lakh tonnes of wheat. The area under wheat in Punjab has remained almost stable within a certain range for the last several years.
In the 2023-24 season, the area there improved slightly to 35.08 lakh hectares, which is equivalent to 86 lakh acres and 18 thousand hectares more than the sowing area of 34.90 lakh hectares in the 2022-23 season.
This time the weather conditions were largely not favorable for wheat crop in Punjab and improved varieties were cultivated in more area there.
This time the average yield rate of wheat in all the districts of the state has increased to around 54 quintals per hectare, which is 7-8 quintals more than the last season.