Government Raises Wheat Procurement Target by 10 Lakh Tonnes

30-Apr-2025 12:26 PM

New Delhi. The Union Food Ministry has increased its national wheat procurement target for the current Rabi marketing season from 312.70 lakh tonnes to 322.70 lakh tonnes, following better-than-expected arrivals. This 10 lakh tonne increase applies solely to Madhya Pradesh, where the original target of 60 lakh tonnes has now been revised upward to 70 lakh tonnes after actual procurement exceeded expectations.

There has been no change in the procurement targets for other states, but government purchase operations are actively ongoing across major wheat-producing regions.

According to official sources, daily wheat procurement across India has exceeded 10 lakh tonnes, reflecting strong infrastructure and preparedness by procurement agencies. In Madhya Pradesh alone, more than 3 lakh tonnes are arriving at procurement centres daily.

On April 28, approximately 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat were procured in the state. Officials are ensuring that purchases are cleared the following day to avoid storage bottlenecks.

Over 15 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh have registered for selling wheat to the government this season. Procurement is being carried out at a rate of Rs 2,600 per quintal, which includes the MSP of Rs 2,425 and an additional bonus of Rs 175 per quintal provided by the state government.

Harvesting is nearly complete in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, while 88% of the crop has been harvested in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 92% in Haryana, and 80% in Punjab. Wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh started on March 15 and is continuing steadily.

The total wheat cultivation area in key producing states — Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat — was recorded at 299.10 lakh hectares, which accounts for 92% of the national gross sown area of 326.10 lakh hectares.

Approximately 23.20 lakh hectares are still under wheat crop, with harvest completion expected by the first week of May.