Government purchase of wheat in UP, MP and Rajasthan much less than expected

28-Jun-2024 02:01 PM

New Delhi. Despite the Minimum Support Price (MSP) being increased by Rs 150 to Rs 2275 per quintal and the estimate of a record production of more than 1129 lakh tonnes,

the total government purchase of wheat at the all India level during the current Rabi marketing season could barely increase by 3-4 lakh tonnes compared to last year and reach 265-266 lakh tonnes.

Under this, the approval of purchase in Punjab and Haryana became normal to some extent, but in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan it was much less than expected. In Madhya Pradesh,

about 48 lakh tonnes of wheat was purchased as compared to the target of 80 lakh tonnes and in Uttar Pradesh,

9.31 lakh tonnes of wheat was purchased as compared to the target of 60 lakh tonnes. Similarly, a target of purchasing 20 lakh tonnes of wheat was set in Rajasthan,

but the actual purchase could not even reach 50 percent of it. In Uttar Pradesh (UP), a record purchase of 56.41 lakh tonnes of wheat was made during the year 2021, but later it decreased to 2.20 lakh tonnes in 2022 and 3.16 lakh tonnes in 2023.

Private traders and millers-processors tried to buy wheat from farmers at a price higher than the minimum support price and they also succeeded in it.

There is limited arrival of wheat in the mandis of major producing states and the price is also running higher than the government support price.

Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) have a stock of wheat left. In fact, during the vigorous harvesting and preparation of the new crop, wheat was available at a cheaper price in Uttar Pradesh than in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan,

due to which millers and traders from South India bought it in large quantities. Farmers of Punjab and Haryana sold most of their wheat to government agencies.