Govt wheat procurement jumps 16%, Madhya Pradesh seeks higher target

Strong arrivals, relaxed quality norms and robust state purchases support foodgrain availability despite adverse weather disruptions

The Central government’s wheat procurement in the ongoing 2026-27 rabi marketing season has risen sharply after a weak start, with total purchases increasing nearly 16% year-on-year as of Monday amid improving arrivals across key producing states.

 According to government data, wheat procurement stood at 34.36 million tonnes as of Monday against the current procurement target of 34.50 million tonnes. The procurement season usually runs from April to June, though purchases started earlier this year from mid-March.

 The strong recovery comes after procurement had dropped nearly 60% in early April due to delayed harvesting and crop damage caused by unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms in several wheat-growing regions.. Madhya Pradesh has also requested the Centre to increase its wheat procurement target to 13.1 million tonnes from the present 10 million tonnes. 

If approved, it would mark the second upward revision in the Centre’s wheat procurement target for the 2026-27 season. Despite higher procurement, crop quality remains a concern this season. Around 70% of the wheat procured so far, or nearly 23.27 million tonnes, has been purchased under relaxed quality norms after weather-related crop damage. Under the revised norms, farmers are allowed to sell wheat containing up to 15% shrivelled and broken grains, compared to the earlier limit of 6%.  The permissible limit for loss of grain lustre has also been relaxed to 50%. Officials said the relaxations are unlikely to affect nutritional quality significantly, though shelf life may be lower.

Among major wheat-producing states, Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the strongest performer this season. The state has procured 10.2 million tonnes so far, up 31% from last year, with the entire quantity meeting fair-average quality standards.

  Punjab and Haryana have nearly completed procurement operations. Haryana exceeded its procurement target of 7.2 million tonnes and recorded a 14% rise in purchases compared with last year.   As of May 25, total wheat arrivals across India stood at around 40.23 million tonnes, with government agencies procuring more than 85% of the arrivals.

The Centre currently holds comfortable wheat stocks, with central pool reserves standing at 42.8 million tonnes as of May 1, nearly 96% higher than a year ago.  —Informist