New Delhi
The Centre has missed its wheat procurement target for the 2024-25 season, reaching only 26.6 million tonnes (mt) against a target of 37.3 mt. Wheat stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are at a 16-year low of 30.3 mt, slightly above the buffer norm of 27.5 mt as of July 1.
Procurement has been finalized at 26.5 mt, with only small quantities still coming from Punjab. Lower procurement is attributed to reduced purchases in Madhya Pradesh and farmers opting to sell to private traders for better prices. In Madhya Pradesh, desi wheat prices range from ₹2,450 to ₹2,600 per quintal, higher than the government’s minimum support price of ₹2,275 per quintal.
The Centre procured 4.8 mt from Madhya Pradesh, against a target of 8 mt. From Punjab, 12.4 mt was procured against a target of 13 mt. Haryana provided 7.1 mt against a target of 8 mt, and Uttar Pradesh supplied 930,483 tonnes against a target of 6 mt.
Weather disturbances in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, and better open market prices led to the procurement shortfall. Despite lower stocks, the Centre is confident that 26.6 mt will meet public distribution system and market intervention needs.
The government has stated there are no plans to alter the import duty on wheat as current stocks are sufficient. Retail inflation in wheat rose to 6.5% in May from 6% in April. Queries to FCI and the food and public distribution department remained unanswered.
