New Delhi: With the government anticipating a record wheat output, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has begun buying from farmers in Madhya Pradesh for the current season. It will start purchase operations in the key growing states of Punjab and Haryana from April 1.
According to the latest data, the FCI, which commenced its buying operation last week, had lifted more than 47,000 tonne of wheat in Madhya Pradesh by Monday, against 36,000 tonne achieved during same period last year.
Thanks to favourable cold weather conditions prevailing during the last few months and prompt government measures to control the yellow rust disease that had threatened to destroy wheat crop in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, the country is all set to harvest a record wheat output in the current season.
The government has set a record wheat production target of 81.47 million tonne in 2010-11 against 80.8 million tonne in the previous year. Due to the bumper wheat harvest of 8 million tonnes in Madhya Pradesh last year, the state government has registered a twofold rise in procurement to 3.42 million tonne from 1.67 million tonne a year ago.
Official sources told FE that the FCI would commence lifting operations in Gujarat in next few days as farmers have already brought 24,000 tonne of wheat to the various procurement centres in the state.
The government has hiked this year’s procurement target by more than 16% to a new high of 26 million tonne. Last year, the FCI in collaboration with state agencies had purchased 22.52 million tonne of wheat from farmers.
Last year, Punjab contributed the highest quantity of 10.17 million tonne of wheat to the central pool and FCI had procured 6.33 million tonne from Haryana.
The government procures wheat and rice from farmers at the minimum support price, which this year has been set at R1,120 per quintal for wheat.
Meanwhile, the FCI, which is facing an acute shortage of storage space, has initiated measures to move 2.4 million tonne of existing wheat stocks from Punjab and Haryana and 8 lakh tonne of stocks from other states to southern and western states for creating space for the fresh crop.
“We have large stocks of wheat and rice, which is far above strategic reserve and buffer stocks norms,” a food ministry official said. As on March 1, the FCI had 28.72 million tonnes of rice and 17.15 million tonne of wheat stocks, while the strategic reserve and buffer stocks norms stipulate foodgrain stocks of 5 million tonne of wheat and 20 million tonne of rice.
The FCI procures grain for allocation to states under the PDS and also adheres to buffer and strategic reserve norms. (Financial Express)
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