Wheat procurement in 2014-15 may slip, says food secretary

However, PDS won't be hampered as govt hold 48 mn tonnes in its warehouses

The government on Tuesday said its wheat procurement for the 2014-15 marketing year (ending March 2015) is likely to be below the last year’s level of 25 million tonnes (mt) due to poor quality of the crop. However, for a government which has been battling lack of storage space during the ongoing wheat procurement season, this has come as a blessing in disguise.

“Last year, FCI (Food Corporation of India) had procured 25 mt of wheat. As per my own assessment, this year’s overall wheat procurement would be lower than the last year’s,” Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar said at a seminar on flour mills.

Good purchases by private millers might also restrict government procurement to below 25 mt, another official said. If procurement drops below 25 mt, it would be the lowest ever wheat purchased by government agencies in the past three years. However, low wheat procurement would not hamper India's public distribution system, as the government still holds over 48 mt grains (wheat and rice) in its warehouses. The government had set a target of purchasing 31 mt wheat in 2014-15.

According to food ministry data, FCI and state government-owned agencies have procured 7.5 mt wheat so far this year, significantly lower than 11.96 mt purchased in the year-ago period. FCI along with state agencies have around 80 mt of storage capacity with them.

The wheat marketing year runs from April to March but FCI’s procurement operation gets completed in three months.

According to food ministry officials, the pace of wheat procurement in Punjab is very slow due to delayed harvesting in the state, following recent unseasonal rains.

FCI has been able to procure 940,581 tonnes in Punjab this year, against 4.3 mt in the same period last year, showed official data. Wheat growers in Punjab have complained of non-procurement of crop by procurement agencies, citing higher moisture content. In Haryana, procurement is down marginally at 3.2 mt as of Tuesday, against 3.7 mt a year ago. Procurement in Madhya Pradesh is at 3.17 mt against 3.6 mt during the  year-ago period.

Procurement in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other growing states is trailing behind the last year's level.

Wheat production in India, the world's second largest grower, is earlier pegged at 95.6 mt for 2013-14 (July-June), but bad weather during the harvesting stage is expected to drag it down by three-four mt. The production stood at 93.5 mt in the previous year.

Highlighting the importance of fortified wheat flour (enriched flour) to address malnutrition in the country, Kumar said the flour milling industry should take proactive steps to promote the product in the country.

“About 30 per cent of world flour is fortified. It is very less in our country. There is nutrition deficiency not only in poor section but also among affluent class,” he said.