605,000 tonnes wheat procured in Punjab

Government agencies and private millers procured more than 605,000 tonnes of wheat till last evening, whereas 5.5 million tonnes of wheat was procured last year. Of the total 605,000 tonnes of wheat procured in all the procurement centres of Punjab, government agencies alone procured 602,000 tonnes of wheat (99.05 per cent) till date whereas private traders procured 2,982 tonnes (0.5 per cent).

The central government agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) had been able to procure 72,961 tonnes of wheat which was the 12.1 per cent of the total procurement of wheat in the state. The state government has set up 1,634 procurement centres and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of wheat, the spokesman added.