584 Lakh Tonnes Foodgrains in Central Pool

16-Jan-2026 05:29 PM

New Delhi: The central pool held a total stock of 584.01 lakh tonnes of foodgrains on January 1, 2026, which was 19.27 lakh tonnes less than the stock of 603.28 lakh tonnes available on December 1, 2025, but 108.98 lakh tonnes more than the stock of 475.03 lakh tonnes available on January 1, 2025.  Earlier, at the beginning of January 2024, only 345.29 lakh tonnes of foodgrains were available.

According to official figures, compared to January 1, 2025, the stock of rice in the central pool increased from 290.92 lakh tonnes to 309.38 lakh tonnes on January 1, 2026, and the stock of wheat jumped from 184.11 lakh tonnes to 274.63 lakh tonnes.

During the same period, the stock of paddy also increased from 476.28 lakh tonnes to 552.15 lakh tonnes, but the stock of coarse grains decreased from 1.82 lakh tonnes to just 65,000 tonnes.

Government procurement of Kharif paddy is still underway, and rice millers have started supplying custom milled rice (CMR) to the warehouses of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and its associated state agencies.

With the pace of deliveries expected to accelerate in the coming days, the stock of rice in the central pool will increase regularly.

This is likely to create a serious storage problem. Along with this, government procurement of wheat will also begin from March-April.

This year, a bumper wheat crop is expected, and the minimum support price has also been increased by Rs. 160 to Rs. 2585 per quintal.

This may lead to an increase in government procurement of wheat. This could further exacerbate the storage crisis. The Food Corporation of India is making every possible effort to reduce its huge stock of rice and wheat.