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Informist, Friday, Apr. 17, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

 

NEW DELHI – The government has procured 3.66 million tonnes wheat as of mid-April in the 2026-27 rabi marketing season, 48% lower from the previous year due to delayed harvesting and concerns over crop quality across key northern states. Procurement had been negligible at the start of April at 24,000 tonnes, down over 60% on year, according to Food Corp. of India data accessed by Informist.

 

To improve procurement, the Centre has accepted requests from states and relaxed quality specifications in Rajasthan and Haryana, and will soon ease them in Punjab as well, a government official said, adding that this should help speed up procurement in the coming weeks.

 

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March affected the crop, leading to loss of lustre, shrivelling, and higher grain breakage. "Relaxations have been granted for Haryana and Rajasthan. Relaxation for Punjab is in process. Sampling is ongoing there," the official said.

 

Farmers can now sell wheat with up to 15% shrivelled and broken grains, compared with the earlier limit of 6%, the official said. The permissible limit for loss of lustre has also been relaxed up to 50%, he added. According to the official, these relaxations would not result in material nutrient losses but could affect the shelf life.

 

As of Wednesday, farmers across the country had brought to the mandis about 6.37 million tonnes of wheat, of which government agencies bought over 57% or 3.66 million tonnes, indicating a strong government presence in the market.

 

Although the Food Corp. of India and state agencies are procuring wheat across major producers such as Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the pace remains sluggish, with Madhya Pradesh lagging significantly.

 

Wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh is down 95% on year at 199,131 tonnes, as warm temperatures in March delayed crop maturity and harvesting. Procurement in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is also down 57% and 49% on year, respectively.

 

Haryana leads the government's wheat procurement at 2.87 million tonnes, up 22% on year. It is the only major producer to record an on-year rise in procurement. Punjab's wheat procurement is down nearly 6% on year at 246,161 tonnes.

 

The Centre has set a wheat procurement target of 30.3 million tonnes for the 2026-27 rabi marketing season. Although the wheat procurement window typically runs from Apr. 1 to Jun. 30, purchases began in mid-March in key states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.

 

The government has entered this procurement season with comfortable wheat stocks in its godowns. Therefore, the primary objective is to support prices and prevent distress sale by farmers rather than aggressively build stocks, according to officials. Wheat stocks in the central pool as of Apr. 1 were up 85% on year at 21.8 million tonnes.

 

The government procures food grains to maintain buffer stocks, feed 800 million people through welfare programmes, and check the 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 Ashish Shirke

 

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