The Centre’s wheat procurement declined by 44 percent to 162 lakh tonne till May 1 of the current rabi marketing year on higher exports and low arrival in Punjab and Haryana mandis, according to official sources. As per the latest official data, about 162 lakh tonne of wheat has been purchased by the government agencies till May 1 of the ongoing 2022-23 rabi marketing season (RMS). It was 288 lakh tonne in the year-ago period.
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The fall in the government wheat buying, the official sources said, was mainly due to increased private purchase for the export as well as lower crop yields, especially in Punjab and Haryana because of the sudden rise in temperature. About 9.63 lakh tonne of wheat have been exported by private players till April 21 this year, as against 1.3 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, the sources said.
As per the data, the government’s wheat procurement in Punjab declined to 89 lakh tonne until May 1 of the current marketing season when compared to 112 lakh tonne in the year-ago period. As much as 37 lakh tonne were purchased in Haryana as against 80 lakh tonne in the comparable period.
The country is estimated to have exported over 7 million tonne in 2021-22 fiscal. The official sources further said that the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments have sent teams to directly procure wheat from farmers.
Meanwhile, the Centre has stopped the sale of wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk consumers and asked them not to wait for recommencement of the scheme for buying the grain, the sources added. Private players are buying wheat at more than MSP amid increased demand for the grain for export.
Wheat production is pegged at a record 111.32 million tonne in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June), as per the second advance estimate of the agriculture ministry.
First Published: IST
