Govt buys 196 lakh tonnes of wheat

The government has bought over 196 lakh tonnes of wheat so far in the ongoing 2024-25 marketing year, surpassing its annual requirement of 186 lakh tonne for all welfare schemes including the National Food Security Act.

Now, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) - the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains -- is making efforts to meet its target of buying 310-320 lakh tonne in the 2024-25 marketing year to augment buffer stocks and keep surplus grains for making intervention in the open market, if needed, to control retail prices. Procurement of wheat, a major rabi (winter-sown) crop, is down 11 per cent so far from 219.5 lakh tonne in the same period last year. This is mainly due to lower purchases in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. "Government's procurement is going on smoothly. Till now, we have procured 196 lakh tonne whereas the annual requirement of Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and other welfare schemes is 186 lakh tonne," FCI CMD Ashok K Meena said when asked about procurement operations.

"We are also on track to achieve our procurement estimated as arrivals of wheat in Punjab and Haryana are very good," he said, adding that the FCI would procure around 200 lakh tonne from these two states alone. The Centre had procured 261.97 lakh tonne of wheat in the 2023-24 marketing year (April-March). The bulk of procurement is done during April-May.

As per the Union Agriculture Ministry estimates, production of wheat is seen at 1,120.19 lakh (112 million) tonne in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) as compared to 1,105.54 lakh (110.5 million) tonne in the preceding year. There are chances of output reaching around 1,150 lakh (115 million) tonne on higher yields than expected in some states. According to sources, the FCI has procured wheat worth Rs 45,000 crore from nearly 16 lakh farmers from various States at MSP, which is Rs 2,275 per quintal. The arrivals of wheat crops currently in Punjab and Haryana are good. FCI expects to procure 130 lakh tonne from Punjab and 70 lakh tonne from Haryana.

Sources said, the FCI might extend procurement operations in a few states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, before May as it expects late arrivals of crops in the mandies. The idea is to have surplus stocks to launch Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) if needed to control prices. Last year, over 100 lakh tonne were offloaded to flour millers and other wheat-based industries under this scheme. The FCI has also relaxed quality norms in many states including MP to ensure farmers get minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.