Wheat procurement at 266.68 LT in 2013-14 marketing year so far

Last year, govt had procured 247.80 lakh tonnes of wheat till May 22

The procurement of wheat during the ongoing marketing year (April-March) has increased by 8% to 266.68 lakh tonnes so far on account of rise in procurement from major producing states.

Last year, government had procured 247.80 lakh tonnes of wheat till May 22. Total procurement stood at 250 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 marketing year.

The government has fixed a target to procure 310 lakh tonnes of wheat during the ongoing marketing year, 60 lakh tonnes higher than the last year's total procurement.

The wheat procurement in Punjab has already crossed its target of 110 lakh tonnes during the current season, whereas in Haryana it has almost reached its target of 65 lakh tonnes.

As on May 22, the procurement in Punjab so far is at 114.38 lakh tonnes, 5.45% higher than the last year's level of 108.46 lakh tonnes at the same time.

Similarly in neighbouring state of Haryana, procurement has rose to 64.73 lakh tonnes as compare to 58.70 lakh tonnes at the same time during marketing year 2013-14.

Punjab, Haryana along with Madhya Pradesh are major contributors of wheat to the central pool.

Procurement in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has also increased to 68.06 lakh tonnes and 16.26 lakh tonnes respectively so far from 62.06 lakh tonnes and 11.80 lakh tonnes at same time last year.

However, in Uttar Pradesh procurement has halved to 3.17 lakh tonnes so far, as compared to 6.60 lakh tonnes last year.

Agriculture Ministry in its third advance estimate for the crop year 2013-14 (July-June) has estimated the wheat production at record level of 958.5 lakh tonnes. In 2012-13 crop year, output stood at 935.10 lakh tonnes.

Food Corporation of India (FCI), along with state level agencies, procure wheat on behalf of government, which sells this wheat to at subsidised rates under various welfare schemes.