Uttar Pradesh govt decides to halt wheat procurement

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to end wheat procurement by the end of this month. The food and civil supplies department will be closing its purchase centres on June 30 marking an end of the wheat procurement in the state.

Besides, the state government has directed seven agencies to stop procuring wheat. UP Agro, UP Upbhokta Sangh, State Essential Commodities Corporation, State Employees Welfare Corporation, Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) are the ones which have been directed to stop procuring wheat. On the other hand, Pradeshik Co-operative federation (PCF) has been directed to conclude purchasing wheat from today evening.

The state government’s decision to stop procuring wheat was on account of limited storage capacities and buying agencies exceeding their target this year. The state government has also issued directives to lift wheat kept at open spaces for public distribution system so that safety of wheat can be ensured.