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Informist, Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

 

NEW DELHI – The Centre has set a wheat procurement target of 30.3 million tonnes for the rabi marketing season 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) after cutting the estimates submitted by the states. Major wheat-growing states Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh had proposed higher procurement, but the Centre "realistically corrected" these targets after assessing the production and market dynamics, a government official said.

 

The wheat procurement target was decided Friday at a meeting of food secretaries of various states and officers of the Food Corp. of India. The largest cuts were made in the targets proposed by Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Punjab had proposed procuring 13.2 million tonnes of wheat, but the Centre fixed the target for the state at 12.2 million tonnes. Wheat procurement in Punjab will begin on Apr. 1 and continue till the end of May.

 

Uttar Pradesh had sought to procure 3.0 million tonnes of wheat but was assigned a target of just 1.0 million tonnes, the official said. Although the state is among the country's major wheat producers, government procurement in the state is limited because private traders offer strong competition. Procurement operations in the state are scheduled to start Mar. 17, the official said. Last year, too, Uttar Pradesh had procured 1.0 million tonnes of wheat.

 

In Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, the reductions were smaller. Both states had proposed to procure 8.0 million tonnes of wheat, but the Centre fixed the targets at 7.8 million tonnes for Madhya Pradesh and 7.2 million tonnes for Haryana. The government may revise the targets upwards if arrivals are strong and the pace of procurement is better than expected, the official said.

 

In 2025-26, the Centre had revised Madhya Pradesh's procurement target upwards twice, taking it to 8.0 million tonnes from the initial 6.0 million tonnes. The state closed procurement at 7.8 million tonnes.

 

The FCI and state agencies will procure wheat from farmers at the minimum support price of INR 2,585 per 100 kg in 2026-27. The wheat procurement window typically runs from April till the end of June.

 

RAJASTHAN PROCUREMENT

The government has already begun procuring wheat in the Kota division of Rajasthan from Tuesday, the official said. The state has announced a bonus of INR 150 per 100 kg over and above the minimum support price. Wheat purchases in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are expected to start next week. Rajasthan had sought to procure 2.3 million tonnes of wheat. The Centre fixed its target at 2.1 million tonnes. Last year, the state had closed procurement with about 2.14 million tonnes.

 

The government enters the rabi marketing season with comfortable wheat stocks in its godowns. Therefore, the primary objective is to support prices and prevent distress sales by farmers rather than aggressively build stocks, the official said.

 

Wheat stocks in the central pool as of Feb. 1 were up 58% on year at 25.6 million tonnes. The government has also allowed exports of wheat and wheat products to ensure remunerative prices for farmers. India had curbed wheat exports in May 2022.

 

The government procures food grains to maintain buffer stocks, feed 800 million people through welfare programmes, and check rise in retail prices through open market sales. India's wheat production in the crop year 2025-26 (Jul-Jun) is estimated at a record 120.2 million tonnes, according to the agriculture ministry's second advance estimate. Last year, the country's wheat output was 117.9 million tonnes.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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