Government procurement target of wheat increased to 332.70 lakh tonnes

05-May-2025 01:35 PM

New Delhi. In view of the excellent procurement performance in Madhya Pradesh, the government has once again raised the wheat procurement target for the central pool by 10 lakh tonnes, bringing the new target to 332.70 lakh tonnes.

Initially, the Union Food Ministry had set a procurement target of 312.70 lakh tonnes for the current Rabi marketing season.

This was first increased to 322.70 lakh tonnes and now further raised to 332.70 lakh tonnes, marking a total increase of 20 lakh tonnes so far.

For the past three years, actual government procurement of wheat has fallen short of the set targets. In 2022, only 188 lakh tonnes were procured, followed by 262 lakh tonnes in 2023 and 266 lakh tonnes in 2024.

However, this year the government is confident of achieving and surpassing its target, which is why the target has been revised upwards multiple times.

Nationally, government procurement of wheat will continue until June 30, 2025. During the remaining two months of May and June, government agencies aim to procure as much wheat as possible.

So far this year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and its partner state agencies have procured 263 lakh tonnes of wheat—just 3 lakh tonnes short of the total procurement in 2024.

Since procurement is ongoing in key producing states such as Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, it is expected that this year’s procurement will surpass last year’s significantly.

Around 80 percent of the revised procurement target has already been achieved, and the total quantity procured is about 23 percent higher than the same period last year.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are receiving attractive incentives for selling their produce to government agencies.

In addition to the Centre’s minimum support price (MSP) of Rs. 2425 per quintal, Madhya Pradesh is offering an additional bonus of Rs. 175 and Rajasthan Rs. 150, raising the effective procurement price to Rs. 2600 per quintal and Rs. 2575 per quintal respectively.

While procurement is progressing well in Punjab and Haryana, the expected rise in procurement has not been observed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat.

In Madhya Pradesh, the procurement target was first increased from 60 lakh tonnes to 70 lakh tonnes and now further raised to 80 lakh tonnes. However, there has been no change in the procurement targets for other states.