Wheat procurement falls 69% over quality concerns in Punjab and Haryana

Punjab farmers to block rail tracks tomorrow to demand norm relaxations; Haryana eases quality norms

Wheat procurement for the central pool took a hit in the first fortnight of the 2026-27 season, weighed by low purchases from Punjab and Haryana due to quality issues. The government bought 1.53 million tonnes of wheat during the period, a 69 per cent drop against the same period last year. The quality of grains arriving in mandis has been below parameters due to unseasonal rains.

 

The slow procurement has left thousands of farmers waiting for days to get their wheat purchased. As a result, farmers organisations, such as Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), have called for a four-hour rail blockade across Punjab on April 17 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, demanding relaxation in procurement quality standards.

   

So far, wheat arriving in Punjab mandis is having 20 per cent shrivelled and broken grains, when the Food Corporation of India (FCI) accepts wheat which only has 6 per cent shrivelled grains, sources said.

 

In addition, there has also been lustre loss due to unseasonal rain in late March and early April.

 

“The Punjab government is wary of going for large-scale purchases as they fear that if FCI does reject the poor quality grains they would be saddled with huge unsold stocks,” Punjab Arthiya Association President Prem Goyal told Business Standard.

 

A team of officials from the government has been visiting Punjab mandis to collect wheat samples, he said. However, a decision is not likely before the next two-three days.

 

Sandeep Singh, member of Joint State Coordination Committee of Punjab State Procurement Agencies, said that due to excess shriveled grains in the wheat, natural moisture gain won’t be possible. Therefore, the central government will have to relax the quality parameters as they have done for Haryana and Rajasthan.

 

In Haryana, the government procured wheat with 15 per cent shriveled and broken grains on Wednesday, as against the existing parameters of 6 per cent and decided to accept wheat with 70 per cent luster loss.

 

Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, is procured through the April-March period. However, much of the grain is bought in the first few months itself, mainly by the FCI and state agencies.

 

According to FCI data, the agencies have procured 1.53 million tonnes since the start of the procurement operation from April 1, while the arrival stood at 3.5 million tonnes.

 

In the same period of the 2025-26 rabi marketing season, the agencies had procured 5.00 million tonnes, where the arrival was 9.3 million tonnes.

 

The government has set a wheat procurement target of over 30 million tonnes for the ongoing 2026-27 season (April-March). Procurement in major states, such as Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, commenced on April 1, 2026, while specific regions like Rajasthan began as early as March 10, 2026.

 

Wheat is being procured at a minimum support price of ₹2,585 per quintal. 

 

(With agency inputs)