The Government has procured 78,392 tonnes of wheat in the first fortnight of the fresh procurement season which began on March 15, 2021 as compared to the 60 metric tons last year during the same period.
According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the procurement has started only in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. It is likely to pick up pace as it takes off in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand from April 1. The procurement of Punjab has been delayed to April 10 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.
Last year also, Punjab had delayed procurement for 10 days due to the pandemic. The procurement estimate for wheat has been fixed as 427.36 LMT for the year 2021-22.
During previous year 2020-21, a quantity of 390 LMT procured in the central pool and benefitting 43.36 lakh farmers. The harvesting exercise will pick up in a couple of days with procurement.