Procurement plan for bumper wheat crop

Agencies to procure more than 20.2 mn tonne

Government agencies are expected to procure more than 20.2 million tonnes of wheat this year from an anticipated record production of around 75 million tonnes.

With the requirement of the public distribution system for the next year being projected at 15 million tonnes, the Central grain pool will be left with a surplus of over 5 million tonnes of wheat for possible export and other purposes.

Last year, the wheat procurement was merely 15.8 million tonnes from a drought-driven wheat harvest of 65.1 million tonnes.

The arrangements for procurement, transportation and storage of grains for the ensuing Rabi marketing season, beginning April 1, were reviewed today in a meeting convened by Union Food Secretary S K Tuteja. Officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), wheat producing states and concerned Central ministries were present in the meeting.

Union Food Minister Sharad Yadav has already instructed the grain agencies not to let any farmer resort to distress sale.

States, where the FCI and other agencies normally do not operate due to meagre surplus, will be encouraged to procure wheat under the decentralised grain procurement scheme on behalf of the Centre.

The support price of wheat has already been fixed at Rs 630 per quintal for the ensuing Rabi marketing season. The official procurement operations would begin from April 1.

The precise estimate of the likely wheat output from the standing crop would be available only during the forthcoming Kharif conference of the state agriculture secretaries to be held here on February 16 and 17. However, the representative of the agriculture ministry in today's meeting indicated that it would be above 75 million tonnes.

The crop is estimated to have been grown over an area of about 27.1 million hectares in the current Rabi season, against 24.3 million hectares during the last season. The condition of the standing crop, too, is reported to be excellent.

Punjab, being the state with the largest marketable wheat surplus, is likely to account for nearly half, over 10 million tonnes, of the projected total procurement of over 20 million tonnes.

Procurement in Haryana is likely to be around 6 million tonnes and Uttar Pradesh some 2.5 million tonnes. The other states having marginal wheat surplus are Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The game plan

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• Demand from the public distribution system is projected at 15 million tonnes next year
• Wheat procurement was at 15.8 million tonnes last year
• Union Food Minister Sharad Yadav has instructed the agencies not to let any farmer resort to distress sale
• States will be encouraged to procure wheat under the decentralised grain procurement scheme
• The support price of wheat has already been fixed at Rs 630 per quintal for the ensuing Rabi marketing season.