Wheat procurement down 51% to 640,000 tn

The government managed to purchase just 6,40,000 tonne of wheat during March 20 and April 9, down 50.76 per cent over the 1.3 million tonne a year ago, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Procurement has been low since the current open market prices are much higher than the government's minimum support price of Rs 650 per 100 kg, the official said.

Wheat procurement commenced in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on March 20, and in Punjab and Haryana on April 1.

Wheat procurement in Punjab was 2,30,000 tonne in the first nine days of April, down 63.5 per cent on year. In Haryana, the government procured 4,20,000 tonne wheat, down 29 per cent from a year ago, the official said.

Wheat procurement was the lowest in Madhya Pradesh at 20 tonne as against 1,20,000 tonne in the corresponding period last year, as open market prices are higher by around Rs 100-150 per 100 kg than the government's procurement price. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have not been selling wheat to the government despite a relaxation in procurement norms.

The government relaxed quality parameters for wheat procurement in the state last month as the crop had suffered heavy qualitative damage due to unseasonal rains.

The official said wheat purchase is expected to gather steam in the next one-two weeks after arrivals increase in Punjab, where the government procures nearly 80 per cent of its total stocks.

Low wheat procurement is a matter of concern as the country's buffer stocks are already 50 per cent lower than the norm, the official said.

As on April 1, the government had 2.1 million tonne of wheat in the buffer as against the norm of 4 million.

The government plans to buy 16.2 million tonne of the commodity in the current procurement season.

The official said even if the government manages to meet its wheat procurement target for the current year, it would still fall short of the 70,000 tonne requirement under the public distribution system.

According to government estimates, India's wheat output in 2006 is seen at 73 million tonne. India produced 72 million tonne of the cereal last year.