Wheat procurement from MP up 15%

State retains second slot once again in procurement; Punjab remains the top wheat procuring state

Madhya Pradesh retains the second slot for wheat procurement in the country once despite this being a ‘no-bonus’ season. Punjab remains the top wheat procuring state.

As procurement process comes to an end on Tuesday in MP, except for Umaria district where the process has been extended till the end of this month, the state has procured 7.26 million tonne of wheat (approximately) till the filing of this report.

Data from the Food Corporation of India till May 21 show procurement from MP at 6.94 million tonnes. That for Punjab stands at 9.8 mt. Haryana comes third 6.76 mt. MP state officials say procurement from the state has shown an increase of almost 15 per cent from last year. 6.35 mt of wheat was procured from state on 2014-15, according to data provided by the state government.

“Procurement may go up to 7.3 mt but may not cross 7.4 mt,” Neelam Shammi Rao, managing director of MP State Civil Supplies Corporation told Business Standard. The corporation is a state-owned nodal agency for wheat procurement.

Bhopal district has procured the highest quantity, at 1.7 mt, while Umaria has procured 1,160 tonne at minimum support price of Rs 1,450 a quintal. Till last season, the state offered Rs 150 on each quintal of wheat to farmers.

Madhya Pradesh needs 2.6 million metric ton of wheat for its own public distribution system. The rest of the quantity of wheat is supplied to states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and north eastern states by Central government. Private players like Unilever, Cargill, ITC etc., also procure wheat but in minuscule quantity.

“Traders at mandis have also procured 2.3-2.4 million metric ton of wheat this season, which reflects that farmers have been offered better prices for the commodity,” she further said.

State government had expected 20 million ton of wheat production this year against 17.2 million produced last year though unseasonal rains, hailstorm and bad weather conditions have affected the productivity. This year the state government disbursed a relief of Rs 395 crore to hailstorm affected farmers across the state.

“We have procured almost similar quantity of wheat without offering any bonus this season,” Ashok Barnwal, principal secretary of state civil supplies department said. State started offering bonus on wheat since 2010-11 when it procured 3.5 million metric ton. It procured 5 million ton during 2011-12, 8.5 million metric ton during 2012-13, 6.3 million metric ton during 2013-14 and 7.2 million metric ton during 2014-15.

“If you see last year’s data it reflects, we have procured similar quantity even better than previous years without offering any bonus,” he said.

The state government had faced allegations in the past years that state inflates its wheat procurement data since farmers from neighbouring states flock into Madhya Pradesh in anticipation of better prices, particularly Rs 150 per quintal bonus.

The state also grows one of the finest varieties “Sharbati” which is high in protein contents followed by “Durum” which is exported to ‘pasta’ making countries.