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The government may have to trim its 2013-14 wheat procurement target by four million tonnes (mt) to around 40 mt because of heightened purchases by private traders from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, this will not have any impact on the public distribution system (PDS) as wheat stocks in state-run warehouses are more than three times the required quantity.
In the 2013-14 crop marketing season that started from April 1, the government had targeted to purchase around 44 mt of wheat from farmers, almost six mt more than the actual procurement of last year. The target was raised because of bumper harvest in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
“In Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, private traders have been active this year in purchasing wheat directly from farmers and are not waiting for the government to make the first move which could lead to lower-than-expected procurement for the central pool,” food minister K V Thomas told Business Standard.
He added the government might also think of exporting more wheat from the central pool over the already sanctioned around 10 mt as and when the need arises. “First, we will have to exhaust the total allocated quantity for exports and then think of increasing it,” Thomas said.
The government first allowed export of 4.5 mt of wheat from the central pool and then okayed another five mt to clear its inventories ahead of the new procurement season. “We might think of giving private traders more time to export wheat from the second lot,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, latest government data showed that in Uttar Pradesh, state-run agencies have procured around 210,195 tonnes of wheat till last week against 502,337 tonnes procured during the corresponding period last year. In Madhya Pradesh, state agencies procured around 4.65 mt of wheat till last week, against 3.85 mt during the year-ago period.
Thomas said private traders were not very active in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana because of high taxes imposed by the state governments. Punjab imposes a tax of around 14.5 per cent on wheat, while Haryana has a tax of around 11.5 per cent. In contrast, the total tax on purchase of wheat from Uttar Pradesh is nine per cent, while in Madhya Pradesh it is 4.7 per cent.
Officials said in the 2013-14 marketing year, across the country, the government has till date purchased around 19.44 mt of wheat from farmers against 18.99 mt purchased during the corresponding period last year. Of this, highest procurement has been in Punjab, where till Sunday, around 8.89 mt of wheat has been procured by central agencies, up from 7.56 mt procured during the same period last year, while Haryana purchased 5.13 mt of wheat till Sunday against 6.47 mt during the year-ago period.
WHEAT PROCURED TILL APRIL 28 (IN MILLION TONNE)
| STATES | 2012-13 | 2013-14 |
| PUNJAB | 7.56 | 8.89 |
| HARYANA | 6.47 | 5.13 |
| MADHYA PRADESH | 3.85 | 4.65 |
| UTTAR PRADESH | 0.50 | 0.21 |
| RAJASTHAN | 0.52 | 0.51 |
| TOTAL | 18.99 | 19.41 |
NOTE: The Total Might Not Match As All States Have Not Been Included. Also, the procured quantity might be of some dates which are day or two before April 28, 2013, but has been collated as per last information available with the central government.
Source: Department of Food and Public Distribution
