Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured 3.67 lakh tonnes of wheat so far this year, which is 30 per cent lower than the year-ago period as arrivals in Madhya Pradesh mandis are less.
FCI, the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrain, had bought 5.28 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
Wheat procurement starts from middle of March and picks up from April 1. The procurement ends in June. This year, the procurement has started in MP and Gujarat and it is likely to begin in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh from today.
The government had procured 22.5 million tonnes in the entire 2010-11 marketing year (April-March) and it expects the procurement to touch 26.2 million tonnes in 2011-12 as output is estimated to be a record 81.47 million tonnes in 2010-11 crop year (July-June).
In Madhya Pradesh, procurement stood at 3.66 lakh tonnes till yesterday against 5.28 lakh tonne in the year-ago period. Arrivals in MP declined to 4.43 lakh tonnes compared to 6.75 lakh tonnes in the period under review.
However, the government's purchase in Gujarat has risen to 1,039 tonnes so far from 119 tonnes in the year-ago period. In Gujarat, arrivals this year are higher at 76,307 tonnes as against 74,828 tonnes in the year-ago period.
The minimum support price (MSP) of wheat is Rs 1,120 per quintal.