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New Delhi: Government wheat procurement for the 2025-26 rabi marketing season (April–June) has crossed 29.7 million tonnes (MT) as of 22 May, the highest since the 2021-22 season, according to official data. Brisk purchases amid a bumper harvest is expected to ensure sufficient stocks for distribution through the public distribution system (PDS) and enable market intervention to curb price spikes.Procurement stood at 26.6 MT in 2024–25, 26.2 MT in 2023–24, and just 18.8 MT in 2022–23.Data from the Food Corp. of India (FCI) show that wheat procurement this year is up 13.5% from the same period last year, with purchases nearing completion in most major producing states.Read this | Centre holds off wheat export ban rollback to rein in prices ahead of polls, festivalsWheat production is projected at a record 115.43 MT for the 2024-25 rabi season, up 2% from 113.29 MT last year, according to the agriculture ministry. The increase is largely due to favourable weather and the absence of major crop damage from natural calamities.Punjab leads with 11.9 MT procured by government agencies, according to a senior official in the state’s Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. Private traders in Punjab bought another 1.0 MT, of the total arrivals in the state of around 13 MT.Madhya Pradesh and Haryana follow with 7.77 MT and 7.14 MT, respectively. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have recorded procurement of 1.83 MT and 1.0 MT.Procurement from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has seen a significant jump this year, driven by state-level incentives. Madhya Pradesh offered a bonus of ₹175 per quintal over the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,425, while Rajasthan announced a ₹150 bonus. Last year, Madhya Pradesh procured 4.8 MT and Rajasthan 1.2 MT.Read this | India sets record grain production target of 354.64mt for 2025-26, to help boost rural demandAnticipating a strong harvest, the central government had set a procurement target of 31.2 MT for this season, including targets of 12.4 MT from Punjab, 7.5 MT from Haryana, 6 MT from Madhya Pradesh, 3 MT from Uttar Pradesh, and 2 MT from Rajasthan. However, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi recently indicated that actual procurement could touch 32–32.5 MT.The higher procurement is expected to support key welfare schemes and strengthen buffer stocks to stabilise market prices.
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