The government's wheat procurement this year is set to touch an all-time high of 21 million tonnes by the end of the next week. As a result, the government is unlikely to import any wheat during the current financial year.
The procurement has already touched 19.8 million tonnes and government agencies continue to procure 200,000-250,000 tonnes daily.
Aided by a record wheat output of 76.78 million tonnes and stable open market prices, Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government's grain procurement and distribution agency, has already more than doubled its purchase over the 9.66 million tonnes in the corresponding period of last year.
"Procurement will definitely touch 21 million tonnes in a week's time. We are making arrangement of gunny bags and transportation accordingly. While daily mandi arrival has tapered off from its peak of over a million tonne last month, we are still seeing a daily arrival close to 250,000 tonnes. Of this, we are able to procure over 95 per cent," said FCI CMD Alok Sinha.
The largest contribution in wheat purchase has come from Punjab, which contributed about 9.7 million tonnes, followed by Haryana at 5.16 million tonnes.
Other major contributing states are Uttar Pradesh (1.83 million tonnes), Madhya Pradesh (1.60 million tonnes), Rajasthan (over 800,000 tonnes) and Gujarat (over 250,000 tonnes).
With this huge procurement and an opening stock of 5.8 million tonnes as on April 1, the government may not need to import wheat this year to meet the requirement for its public distribution system. The country has been importing wheat for two consecutive years.
"A better grain procurement by the government shall ensure stable prices in the open market and ease the pressure on inflation. With a surplus stock, the government can intervene in the open market whenever there is a significant price increase," said a farm sector analyst.
Stable prices in the market over the last one year, along with apprehensions of coercive government actions on stockholding, has kept private trade largely away from the grain mandis this rabi season.
This is evident from the fact that FCI, along with other agencies, has procured 92 per cent of the total mandi arrivals so far this year as against 73 per cent during the corresponding period last year.
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