Centre further relaxes quality norms for wheat procurement

Providing relief to farmers affected by recent heavy rains and hailstorm, the Centre today further relaxed quality norms for the procurement of wheat in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The Food Ministry has reduced the value cut for shrivelled and broken grains on the requests received from these four states.
Wheat procurement is underway. Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies procure wheat at the support price.
"The Department of Food and Public Distribution has decided not to impose much value cut in respect of more shrivelled and broken grains," the Food Ministry said in a release.

"As such, Rs 3.63 per quintal will be deducted on wheat having shrivelled and broken grains above 6 per cent up to 8 per cent and in case of wheat having shrivelled and broken grains above 8 per cent up to 10 per cent, value cut of Rs 7.25 per quintal will be deducted," the release said.
The value cut in respect of luster lost grains will remain the same as specified in the order-dated April 8. The value cut will be applicable from the date of relaxation allowed. All other conditions will remain the same, it added.

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms, witnessed from February -end, have damaged rabi (winter-sown) crops in about 113 lakh hectares in about 14 states.

Total cultivable area in rabi season stands at 600 lakh hectares and wheat is a major rabi crop.
The Centre has fixed the wheat procurement target at 30.05 million tonnes in 2015-16 marketing year (April- March) as against 28 million tonnes bought by the FCI last year.
Wheat production is likely to fall by 4-5 per cent from the initial estimates of 95.76 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) due to unseasonal rains.