Bumper harvest, wheat procurement to cross target: Food Ministry
The procurement of wheat for the 2025-26 season is proceeding smoothly in the major procuring States, the Union Food Ministry stated here on Thursday (April 1, 2025). So far, 256.31 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat have been procured for the Central pool against a target of 312 LMT set for this season.
Addressing a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra expressed confidence in a bumper harvest and added that the procurement is expected to meet the target. When asked about restoring the wheat entitlement for States under the public distribution system (PDS), he said the Centre would review the situation after the procurement process concluded.
Mr. Chopra added that the quantity of wheat procured up to April 30 this year had surpassed last year's procurement of 205.41 LMT recorded on the same date. The increase in procurement stands at 24.78%, and all major wheat-procuring States, namely Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have procured more wheat this year compared to the same period last year.
Regarding Uttar Pradesh, where public procurement faced hurdles in recent years due to significant buying by private players, Mr. Chopra noted that 7.55 LMT of wheat have been procured from the State so far this season, exceeding last year's figure for the comparable period.
The Ministry stated that 21.03 lakh farmers have benefited this season, with a total Minimum Support Price (MSP) outflow amounting to ₹62,155.96 crore. 'Major contributions to the procurement came from five procuring States, viz., Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, with procurements of 103.89 LMT, 65.67 LMT, 67.57 LMT, 11.44 LMT, and 7.55 LMT, respectively,' the Ministry detailed in a release.
Mr. Chopra attributed the enhanced procurement to concerted efforts by his department. He elaborated that State-specific action plans, based on learnings from previous years, were shared with the States well in advance. He added that farmers received payments within 24 to 48 hours, and procurement centres were established at the village level in many districts. On the question of lifting the ban on wheat exports, he commented that it would be premature to discuss allowing such exports at the present time.
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