New Delhi [India], May 20 : The purchase of wheat by government agencies in the current Rabi season has crossed 26 million tonnes (MT) and is likely to surpass last year's figure of 26.2 MT this week.
The Food Corporation of India and state procuring agencies are likely to procure over 27 MT this rabi season.
Government sources toldthat 27 MT will be enough to meet the requirements of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and needed buffer stocks. Procurement of wheat will continue till the end of this month.
At the beginning of the season, the food ministry had projected to procure 30-31 MT of wheat this season.
The biggest contributor of wheat to the central pool is Punjab, from where a record 12.36 MT is already procured and it is expected that by the end of this procurement season, it will reach a record 12.5 MT.
The second biggest contributor of wheat to the central pool is Haryana. Procurement from the state this season is about 7.1 MT by FCI and state government agencies. Purchase operations in the state ended last week.
There is a lag in procurement from Madhya Pradesh, so far only 4.73 MT of wheat has been procured from the state, much less than the 7 MT bought last year.
The initial target of procurement from M.P was 8 MT. Uttar Pradesh's contribution so far in wheat procurements is only 0.88 MT
So under the minimum support prices (MSP) purchase scheme government has spent over Rs 50,634 crore for procurement of wheat from about 20.5 lakh small and big farmers.
Current wheat stocks in the central pool are 26.85 MT against the buffer stock of 26.58 MT for July 1st.
The government has announced an MSP of Rs 2275 per quintal for wheat for FY 25, which is Rs 150 per quintal more than the previous season. In addition to MSP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have announced a bonus of Rs 125 per quintal to boost purchase in the state.
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