Wheat procurement rises by 36% in current marketing season

In the current marketing season so far, the government’s procurement of wheat rose by 36% and stood at a record 37.85 million tonnes (mt) surpassing its target of 32 mt wheat purchase in this season. This can be attributed to the fact that there was a record production of wheat in the country.

As on July 03, 2012, the wheat procurement was 37.85 mt and the arrivals stood at 40.13 mt. Besides, in the 2011-12 wheat marketing season (April-March), the government had purchased 27.85 mt of wheat. In the current season wheat purchase in Punjab stood at around 12.83 mt while Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have procured nearly 8.66 mt, 8.49 mt and 5.02 mt of wheat respectively.

For 2011-12 crop year (July-June), the wheat output in the country is estimated at a record 90.23 mt while the country has a total storage capacity of about 63 mt. Since the last two consecutive years there was a record production of foodgrains, which has led to storage problem. The minimum support price of wheat stands at Rs 1,285 per quintal.

Surpassing the strategic and buffer norms set by the government, the stock of wheat and rice in the central pool stood at 82.32 mt, including 50.17 mt of wheat and 32.15 mt of rice. As per government rules, the strategic and buffer stock of wheat and rice as of July 1 should be 31.9 mt, which includes 26.9 mt as buffer stock and 5 mt as strategic reserve.