The Centre has decided to procure 330 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat during the rabi marketing season 2017-18, higher than 229.61 lt during the last season.

A decision to this effect was taken on Wednesday in the conference of State Food Secretaries, chaired by Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution.

The sowing of rabi crops this year is reported to be 6 per cent higher than last year. As per Agriculture Ministry data for the week ended January 27, wheat had been sown on 315.55 lakh hectares (lh) compared with the normal level of 301.49 lh for the corresponding week.

As per a Food Ministry’s release, the Centre will procure an estimated 115 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat from Punjab, 85 lt from Madhya Pradesh, 75 lt from Haryana, 30 lt from Uttar Pradesh, 17.5 lt from Rajasthan, 5 lt from Bihar, 1.5 lt from Uttarakhand, and 0.50 lt each from Gujarat and other States.

Rice procurement

The Centre also decided to procure an estimated 50 lt paddy grown in rabi crop of the kharif marketing season (KMS) 2016-17.

Of the total 50 lt, 15 lt of paddy will be procured from Telangana, 13 lt from Andhra Pradesh, 8 lt from West Bengal, 7 lt from Odisha, 5 lt from Tamil Nadu, 1 lt from Kerala, 0.75 lt from Maharashtra and 0.25 lt from Assam.

“This estimate is over and above the estimate of 330 lt set for KMS 2016-17, for which the procurement operations are going on and the paddy procurement in KMS 2016-17 in terms of rice has already reached to the level of 292.31 lt, as reported on February 15, 2017,” the release said, adding that this was nearly 28 lt higher than the procurement of 264.53 lt by the corresponding date last year.

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