Wheat procurement by the government agencies in the key growing states – Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh — for the 2022-23 session is set to commerce. The target of 44 million tonne (mt) of grain procurement from the farmers would be reduced by around 10 mt due to a possible surge in export and high mandi prices.
The official procurement session is from April-June, while a bulk of the wheat crop arrives in the mandis during the first six weeks of the procurement session.
While a major volume of wheat exports is expected from Madhya Pradesh, because of its proximity to ports, the procurement target of 12.9 mt would decline by more than 6–7 mt, as the market price of wheat has been currently ruling above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,015 per quintal. This would encourage the farmers to sell their produce to exporters.
The state is the second-biggest producer of wheat in the country and also contributes the highest volume of grain to the central pool.
An official from Punjab told FE that wheat purchase in the state could decline by around 1 mt, from the target of 13.2 mt for the session. Five agencies including Food Corporation of India (FCI), Markfeed and Pungrain have been entrusted with the responsibility of procurement of wheat at MSP from the farmers.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh, the biggest producer of wheat, has set up 6,000 centres to commence procurement of around 6 mt in the 2022-23 marketing session. However, in the previous year, the state could lift 5.64 mt of grain from an estimated 13 lakh farmers.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, during a review meeting, instructed the officials that wheat should be procured from every eligible farmer who comes to the purchasing centre without any delay in payment.
The farmers are required to register themselves for the wheat sale at the government procurement centres on the Food and Logistics Department’s portal and their produce will be purchased through e-points of purchase machines.
A spokesperson of the Uttar Pradesh Food Commissioner’s office said that the payment for wheat would be directly credited to the Aadhar-linked bank accounts of the farmers. Therefore, it has been made mandatory for the farmers to share their bank accounts in the registration details.
Food ministry officials have indicated that a drop in wheat procurement volume is unlikely to impact the grain allocation to the public distribution system under National Food Security Act (NFSA). The government distributes 5 kg of rice or wheat to close to 81 beneficiaries under NFSA at Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg, respectively.
Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to extend the free ration scheme — the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana announced in 2020 to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic by six months to September-end 2022.
Sudhanshu Pandey, secretary of the department of food and public distribution had said the country could easily export 11 mt of wheat in FY23, given the bumper production and stock levels, adding that the farmers would benefit from the higher shipments as much as traders.
As of date, the FCI has grain stocks of 50.8 mt against the April 1, buffer stocks of 21.04 mt. Besides, 23.7 mt of rice is yet to be received from the millers.
