The procurement of wheat has declined by 18% to 22.9 million tonnes (MT) so far in the current 2016-17 marketing year (April-March). The procurement has fallen mainly due to lower arrival of wheat this year at about 25.6 MT as against over 31 MT last year despite forecast of a higher output.
However, there would not be any shortage of wheat in the country as FCI has about 31 MT of wheat in the stock as against the buffer norm of 27.5 MT as on July 1. The Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, had procured 28 MT of wheat in the 2015-16 marketing year.
According to Agriculture Ministry’s third advance estimate, India’s production has increased to 94.05 MT in the 2015-16 crop year (July-June), from 86.53 MT in the previous year.