Wheat purchase fails to pick up despite bonus

Purchase as on Apr 23 was 7.95 mt, down 31% on yr

The government's wheat procurement has not shown any considerable rise despite a Rs 50 per quintal bonus announced on Friday. As on April 23, the government's wheat purchase was at 7.95 million tonne, only 0.77 million tonne higher than Friday, and down 31 per cent over last year.

Last year, the government's wheat procurement was 11.59 million tonne as on April 23.

This year, wheat procurement started on March 20 in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and on April 1 in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states.

Dealers said the impact of the increase in state intervention price of wheat may be visible on the grain's procurement only in the coming days.

"The government's decision to give a bonus to wheat farmers came on Friday. Arrivals are usually low over the weekend," a Delhi-based dealer said.

He said wheat procurement is expected to gather momentum in the coming weeks due to the bonus.

The government announced a bonus of Rs 50 a quintal for wheat farmers, in addition to the minimum support price of