Punjab farmers sitting on 20 lakh tonnes...

Punjab farmers are holding back a whopping 20 lakh tonnes of wheat in anticipation of a better price even as the Centre is importing the foodgrain to meet buffer stocks.

"According to our estimate, as much as 20 lakh tonnes of wheat is currently with farmers in the state," Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal told reporters on the sidelines of the National Development Council meeting here.

Badal said farmers in Punjab, which contributes the maximum wheat to the central pool, were holding stocks in anticipation of a better price in the coming months.

The official procurement in the state had reached 65 lakh tonnes against a target of 80 lakh tonnes, he said.

According to Food Corporation of India, the central nodal procurement agency, wheat procurement in Punjab stood at 64.73 lakh tonnes as of yesterday against a target of 75 lakh tonnes in the current season.

The state finance minister said wheat production had been declining in Punjab mainly due to climate change. Winter season was reducing by 5-10 days every year and temperature was increasing during November and February, he added.

Newswire18 adds: The government usually stops procuring wheat in Punjab and Haryana by May 31 as arrivals peter out. This year, however, wheat arrivals are still pouring in. Till Sunday, 27,032 tonnes of wheat arrived in the Punjab mandis as against 3,037 tonnes a year ago.

So far a total of 7.73 million tonnes of wheat has arrived in the Punjab mandis compared with 8.08 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, wheat arrivals are strong in Madhya Pradesh as well, where the government has been able to procure 32,213 tonnes against 20 tonnes in 2007.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said usually wheat procurement in the state was very low due to high open market prices.

In Madhya Pradesh, wheat is currently selling at over Rs 1,000 a quintal.

"The government should reconsider its procurement policy in Madhya Pradesh as the quality of wheat in the state is by far the best in the country," Chouhan said.

He said the government should consider offering a higher minimum support price of wheat in Madhya Pradesh to increase procurement.