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Informist, Monday, Apr. 27, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

 

NEW DELHI – The Centre has procured 19.5 million tonnes of wheat as of Sunday in the 2026-27 rabi marketing season, down 13% on year, amid lower purchases in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, procurement in Punjab and Haryana improved after the Centre relaxed quality norms for procuring wheat.  

 

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March negatively affected the crop, leading to loss of lustre, shrivelling, and higher grain breakage. As per the new quality norms, farmers are allowed to sell wheat with up to 15% shrivelled and broken grains now, compared with the earlier limit of 6%. 

As of Sunday, wheat purchases in Punjab and Haryana were up 13% on year at 9.46 million tonnes and up 14% on year at 7.08 million tonnes, respectively, according to data from the Food Corp. of India. 

 

Meanwhile, procurement in other major wheat-producing states continues to lag. Wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh was 1.66 million tonnes, down 73% on year, as warm temperatures in March delayed crop maturity and harvesting. "Delayed tenders for procuring packaging materials may have also impacted the operations," a government official said. The government floats tenders to procure polypropylene sacks from mills. However, the process was delayed this year as the war in West Asia has disrupted supplies of polypropylene raffia granules, a key raw material used to manufacture plastic sacks.

 

Procurement in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan was also down 22% and 26% on year, respectively. 

 

Although wheat purchases across India were 13% lower than the corresponding date last year, it has been steadily improving. As of mid-April, procurement was down 48% on year, an improvement from the 60?cline at the start of April, indicating a gradual recovery. 

 

Meanwhile, markets are also registering lower arrivals than last year. As of Sunday, all-India wheat arrivals were down about 22% on year at 23.21 million tonnes. Of this, the government has bought 84% at the minimum support price of INR 2,585 per 100 kilograms from farmers. 

 

TARGET REVISION

The Centre has revised the target for procuring wheat to 34.5 million tonnes from 30.3 million tonnes, following requests from many states. With 19.5 million tonnes already purchased, the government has achieved over 56% of the revised target. 

 

Madhya Pradesh now aims to procure 10 million tonnes of wheat, up from the earlier 7.8 million tonnes. Though wheat procurement is currently lagging in the state, the target has been raised to buy more wheat from farmers amid subdued demand from private traders.

 

The procurement target has also been raised to 2.5 million tonnes from 1.0 million tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, to 2.35 million tonnes from 2.1 million tonnes in Rajasthan, and 180,000 tonnes from 18,000 tonnes in Bihar. 

 

The government's plan to increase procurement comes as wheat prices have fallen below the minimum support price of INR 2,585 per 100 kg in many markets. The minimum prices of wheat are INR 2,220 in Rajasthan, INR 2,260 in Uttar Pradesh, and INR 2,300 in Madhya Pradesh, according to official data.

 

Prices have fallen mainly due to rising arrivals, weak demand, and quality concerns. Demand has been sluggish in the past few weeks amid ample supply, including carry-over stocks with large buyers such as fast-moving consumer goods companies, stockists, and traders. 

 

The following is the state-wise progressive wheat procurement as of Sunday compared with the year-ago period and the percentage difference: 

 

States	Target (in mln tn)	2026-27 (in tonnes)	2025-26 (in tonnes)	% chng
Punjab	12.20	9,469,970	8,375,934	13.1
Haryana	7.20	7,079,698	6,198,960	14.2
Madhya Pradesh	10.00	1,661,461	6,145,404	-72.9
Rajasthan	2.35	721,949	979,638	-26.3
Uttar Pradesh	2.50	498,411	643,130	-22.5
Total**	34.50	19,480,604	22,366,905	-12.9

 

** The total will not tally due to the omission of smaller states. 

 

End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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