Wheat procurement hits all-time high

NEW DELHI: The government has procured a record 38.2 million tonnes (MT) of wheat, surpassing the previous peak of 38.14 MT in 2012-13.

Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan told ET that the procurement is still on and would exceed the target of 40.7 MT. "We are committed to buy every single grain of farmers. The way procurement is progressing, we expect to end up with an all-time record procurement of 44.17 MT," he said.

Paswan said that the procurement of paddy has also been remarkable with purchase surpassing 73.96 MT in 2019-20.


"Last year, the purchase of paddy was 63.65 MT during this period. In the rabi season itself, we have been able to procure 11.8 MT so far," he said.

This year, Madhya Pradesh emerged as the new wheat procurement centre of the country eclipsing Punjab, which had been contributing around 70% in the central pool together with Haryana for decades.

"Madhya Pradesh has so far procured 12.92 MT of wheat while Punjab could procure 12.71 MT. In Madhya Pradesh, private traders dominate wheat procurement. But due to lockdown, private traders were not able to approach farmers and government had to purchase bulk of it," said a senior ministry official.