The Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to engage registered agents for wheat procurement has paid off handsomely, show data, available with this newspaper.
This season, agents have accounted for over 17 per cent of the total wheat procurement of 5.04 million tonnes (MT) vis-à-vis the target of 4.2 MT.
During 2011-12, the procurement was 1.65 MT higher than last year, while the procurement by agents at 8.6 lakh tonnes is 25 per cent of the total procurement last year. These agents were given a 2.5 per cent commission by the government against the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat at Rs 1,285/quintal. The decision to engage agents for procurement was taken after the process rolled on in April.