As wheat procurement reaches nearly 20 million tonnes (mt), the pace of purchases slows down amid reported pile up of grain in Punjab and Haryana. The procurement until April 24 was 19.86 mt against 13.58 mt a year ago, up by 46 per cent.The daily procurement on April 24 was 1.47 mt, as against 1.67 mt a year ago, down 11.5 per cent, whereas it was 14.1 per cent up on April 21 at 1.48 mt against 1.3 mt.
According to the latest data, wheat procurement in Punjab has surpassed all other States despite a late start and reached 6.84 mt as of April 24 this season, against 4.58 mt in the year-ago period. Haryana has reported its procurement to have reached 5.89 mt, against 5.19 mt a year ago. As usual, these States are expected to contribute significantly to the Central Pool.
The average wheat price in Madhya Pradesh was ₹2,494/quintal, in Rajasthan ₹2,473/quintal, in Haryana ₹2,426/quintal, and in Punjab ₹2,427/quintal on Friday.After the Centre procured record 43.34 mt of wheat in 2021-22, the procurement has been continuously missing the target in last three years as government could buy 18.79 mt in 2022-23 (target 44.4 mt), 26.2 mt in 2023-24 (target 34.15 mt) and 26.61 mt in 2024-25 (target 37.3 mt).
