Wheat quality norms likely to be eased

The Department of Food and Public Distribution is mulling relaxation of the fair and average quality (FAQ) norms for wheat in the ongoing rabi marketing season, food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday.

The quality of wheat has suffered due to the unseasonal rainfall in primary producing states and the government has received requests for relaxing the FAQ norms, he said, adding that the field officials are collecting samples to check the quality of the produce.

The relaxation is being considered for Punjab and Haryana while it has already been granted in Madhya Pradesh, where procurement has already begun.


Chopra said the recent rains and hailstorms have affected the quality of the crop in 16 districts of Punjab and some parts of Haryana, but the quantity is most likely to remain unaffected. "There could be a marginal shortfall in the yield," he said.

The last three weeks of March saw unseasonal rains, hailstorms and thunderstorms which caused some damage to the wheat crop. Out of the 714 districts from where data is received, 66% witnessed rainfall in large excess and 9% in excess. Another 9% received a normal amount of rainfall. While there could be a slight drop in output in Punjab and Haryana, the low temperatures in the past few weeks have helped the crops in other unaffected areas. "There could be higher yield for the late sown crops of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," said Chopra.