In the next few days, government agencies are expected to acquire more wheat than they did the previous year 262 lakh tonnes as of Saturday. As of now, purchases have reached about 261 lakh tonnes. The total is anticipated to not meet the initial estimate of 300–310 lakh tonnes. Madhya Pradesh has extended its procurement period to May 31 in light of a nearly 33% drop in procurement from the previous year.
Punjab and Haryana, with total purchases of 124 lakh tonnes and 71.4 lakh tonnes, respectively, have reported higher purchases than the previous year. Representatives of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are still optimistic that 270 lakh tonnes would be purchased in total. Though Madhya Pradesh is unlikely to reach its initial target of 80 lakh tonnes, efforts are being made to determine the causes behind the decreased procurement in the state.
Although procurement in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has increased significantly, their total contribution to the central pool is still only approximately 18 lakh tonnes, substantially less than the anticipated 50 lakh tonnes from Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. To enable more farmers to take advantage of the Minimum Support Price (MSP), the procurement period in Uttar Pradesh is probably going to be extended until June.
Representatives of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are still optimistic that 270 lakh tonnes would be purchased in total. It seems improbable that the government will remove the export ban on wheat this year given the levels of procurement that are in place. The Center’s decision to return to the wheat-rice distribution ratio that was altered in May 2022 as a result of lower procurement and record exports that year is also still up in the air.
