The government of Punjab has set aside Rs 18,998 crore for wheat procurement as it has set a target of record procurement of over 140 lakh tonnes (LT) this season. The state government as a part of the first installment has also received Rs 13,529 crore from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the wheat procurement in the month of April. The apex bank will release the balance amount by April-end, which would be used for the wheat procurement in the months of May and June.
The state government will make payment to the farmers within 48 hours of the procurement of their crop and lifting of the crop procured would be ensured after 72 hours of the procurement. This time the state government will set up 1,770 procurement centres and the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat has been fixed at Rs 1,350 per quintal. The procurement in the agrarian state officially started on April 1, 2013. Bulk stocks of wheat crop are expected to arrive in grain markets after the Baisakhi festival (April 13-14).
The government agencies procure over 95% of the wheat produced in the state. These include the Punjab government’s Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and Punjab Agro Industries and the central government’s Food Corporation of India (FCI).
Punjab is the biggest contributor of over 60% of food grain to the national kitty despite having just 1.54% of the country’s geographical area. This year around 161.59 LT of wheat production is expected in the state, as per the reports complied by the state agriculture department. Punjab had procured a record 129.35 LT of wheat in 2012.
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