46%, Punjab top contributor to wheat pool

Karam Prakash

New Delhi, May 14

Despite the onslaught of inclement weather which continued right till the end of the harvesting season, Punjab has once again become the largest contributor to the national foodgrain pool.

Over 46 per cent of the total wheat purchased by the Food Corporation of India so far is from Punjab. The nation’s wheat stock has already been replenished this year and put India in a comfortable position in terms of food security.

The FCI has procured around 256 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat so far this year. Of this, 120.26 LMT was procured from Punjab, 24.7 LMT more as compared to the last year’s 95.56 LMT.

Punjab is followed by Madhya Pradesh, which contributed 68.85 LMT of wheat to the national pool and Haryana which supplied 62.86 LMT. Officials said the procurement in Punjab and Haryana had already peaked.

Ashok Meena, Chairman and Managing Director, FCI, said, “We need around 186 LMT of wheat for the public distribution system (PDS), which we have already got. At present, we have a stock of over 315 LMT.” As per the FCI buffer norms, around 245.80 LMT of wheat is required as on July 1 when the procurement season across the country ends. In 2022, the Centre’s wheat procurement had plunged to 180 LMT due to higher export and output loss due to a prolonged heatwave.

Though the FCI got enough wheat to replenish its stock, private players dominated procurement in some states by offering higher prices than the minimum support price (MSP). FCI officials said famers were getting more than MSP in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the procurement by the agency was low. Further, many farmers were not selling their produce with the hope of fetching higher prices later on, they said.

As per official data, Uttar Pradesh is the largest wheat producing state in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.