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The government on Wednesday further tightened wheat stock holding norms for wholesalers, small and big chain retailers, and processors to curb hoarding and check price rise. "As part of continuous efforts to moderate prices of wheat, the central government has decided to revise the wheat stock limit applicable until 31st March 2025," the food ministry said in a statement. According to the revised norms, wholesalers are now allowed to maintain wheat stock up to 1,000 tonne instead of 2,000 tonne, retailer can hold 5 tonne for each outlet instead of 10 tonne, while big chain retailer can hold 5 tonne for each outlet instead of 10 tonne earlier. Processors will be allowed to maintain 50 per cent instead of 60 per cent of their monthly installed capacity multiplied by the remaining months till April 2025. The stock limits on wheat were first imposed on June 24 and later revised to tighten the norms on September 9 in order to manage the overall food security and to prevent hoarding and
The MSP increase is aimed at providing a safety net for farmers, amidst a "moderation" in inflation, while the DA hike is expected to benefit around 4.91 million employees and 6.48 million pensioners
The highest MSP hike was given to Rapeseed and Mustard, with a rise of Rs 300 per quintal (from Rs 5,650 to Rs 5,950), followed by Lentil (Masur), which saw an increase of Rs 275 per quintal
The millers argue that wheat prices at current levels of around Rs 2,700-2,800 per quintal are well justified, given that the MSP of the crop has been raised
Secretary Sanjeev Chopra says food prices to remain stable during festivals; mulls lifting curbs on non-basmati rice exports
Pulses see sharper price moderation due to muted summer demand
A drop in state procurement has fuelled the buzz about impending imports. Will that really be necessary?
Prices of some farm commodities have softened from their peaks, with state agencies also cracking down on hoarding and selling some grains from state reserves
Wheat procurement for the 2024-25 marketing year has surpassed last year's total of 262.02 lakh tonnes, boosted by strong contributions from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, the government said on Friday. In a statement, the government said 262.48 lakh tonnes of rabi (winter)-sown grain has already been purchased for the central pool, benefiting 22.31 lakh farmers, with a minimum support price outflow of Rs 59,715 crore. The major procuring states were Punjab with 124.26 lakh tonnes, Haryana with 71.49 lakh tonnes, Madhya Pradesh with 47.78 lakh tonnes, Rajasthan with 9.66 lakh tonnes and Uttar Pradesh with 9.07 lakh tonnes. Wheat procurement normally runs from April to March, but the Centre this year allowed states to make purchases based on crop arrivals. In most states, the procurement began in early March. The government has set a wheat procurement target of 300-320 million tonnes for the 2024-25 marketing year. Rice procurement is also progressing smoothly, with 728
However, trade and industry officials say the world's second-biggest wheat producer won't be able to achieve its procurement target of 30-32 million tons
In poll season, dwindling wheat production is a matter of political debate
Payment for targeted purchase to cross Rs 13,000 crore
Wheat inventories in government warehouses fell to 9.7 million metric tons at the start of March, the lowest since 2017
Above normal heatwave projected for next 3 months, coinciding with 7-phase LS polls from April 19 to June 1
India had imposed a limit on how much wheat stock traders could hold to moderate prices. However, the limit is set to expire on March 31st and after that, traders must declare their wheat stocks
With the bonus, the official purchase price for wheat in MP will be Rs 2,400 per quintal
He said farmers largely get MSP on wheat and paddy and the government does not even buy many crops
Data on the number of farmers isn't comparable as no record was maintained before 2015-16
The government on Friday said it will sell 'Bharat Rice' in the retail market at Rs 29 per kg from next week to give relief to the common man and has directed traders to disclose rice stock, as part of its efforts to control prices. In a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said retail and wholesale prices of rice have increased by around 15 per cent in the last one year despite restrictions on exports of various varieties. To control prices, he said the government has decided to sell subsidised 'Bharat Rice' at Rs 29 per kg in the retail market through two cooperatives the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) as well as retail chain Kendriya Bhandar. E-commerce platforms will also sell Bharat Rice. He said Bharat Rice will be available in the market from next week in 5kg and 10kg packs. In the first phase, Chopra said the government has allocated 5 lakh tonne
Paddy and wheat farmers have received nearly Rs 18 lakh crore in the last 10 years as Minimum Support Price (MSP) -- a 2.5-fold increase from the preceding decade before 2014, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said, while emphasising the Centre's focus on making farming activities profitable. Moreover, she said farmers producing oilseeds and pulses have received over Rs 1.25 lakh crore as MSP in the last 10 years of the current government. In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building, Murmu said, "My government is laying stress on making farming more profitable. Our aim is to reduce the cost of farming while increasing profits." For the first time, Murmu said, the government has given priority to over 10 crore small farmers in the agricultural policy and schemes. "In the last 10 years, farmers have received nearly Rs 18 lakh crore as MSP (Minimum Support Price) for paddy and wheat crops. This is 2.5 times more than the preceding 10 ye