The government announced on Friday that wheat procurement for the 2024-25 marketing year has surpassed the previous year's total of 262.02 lakh tonnes. The increase has been notably bolstered by robust contributions from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana.
According to a government statement, procurement for the central pool has already reached 262.48 lakh tonnes of rabi (winter)-sown grain, benefiting 22.31 lakh farmers. The minimum support price outflow has totaled Rs 59,715 crore. Leading the procurement were Punjab with 124.26 lakh tonnes, Haryana with 71.49 lakh tonnes, Madhya Pradesh with 47.78 lakh tonnes, Rajasthan with 9.66 lakh tonnes, and Uttar Pradesh with 9.07 lakh tonnes.
For the 2024-25 marketing year, wheat procurement typically spans from April to March. However, this year, the Centre permitted states to initiate purchases upon crop arrivals. In many states, procurement commenced as early as March. The government has established a wheat procurement target ranging between 300-320 million tonnes for the specified period.
Rice procurement is also progressing smoothly, with 728.42 lakh tonnes of paddy, equivalent to 489.15 lakh tonnes of rice, procured directly from 98.26 lakh farmers at a minimum support price outflow of around Rs 1,60,472 crore.