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Informist, Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

NEW DELHI - The government's ongoing wheat procurement in the 2026-27 rabi marketing season has climbed to a five-year high of 35 million tonnes, surpassing the procurement target, as farmers mostly sold wheat to the government amid weak market demand for subpar quality grain. 

 

As of May 31, Food Corp. of India and state agencies bought 34.99 million tonnes of wheat, up 17.3% from 29.82 million tonnes a year ago, according to FCI data. Procurement has already exceeded the revised target of 34.6 million tonnes and is likely to rise further as procurement will continue in many states till the end of June. In 2021-22, the government had bought a record 43.3 million tonnes of wheat. 

 

The government's wheat purchases rose sharply this year as traders and millers were not keen to aggressively buy the wheat damaged by weather in several regions. Meanwhile, the government relaxed the quality norms to procure shrivelled and broken grains from farmers amid widespread crop damage across major wheat-producing states. As a result, over 67% or 23.6 million tonnes of wheat was procured under relaxed quality specifications. 

 

Under the relaxed quality norms, farmers can sell wheat with up to 15% shrivelled and broken grains, compared with the earlier limit of 6%. The permissible limit for loss of lustre has also been relaxed up to 50%. A government official earlier said that these quality relaxations were unlikely to affect the nutritional value of wheat materially, but could reduce its shelf life.

 

Unseasonal rains and hailstorms during the harvest stage in March and April had adversely impacted the grain quality more than crop yield, according to AgriWatch. Despite weather disturbances, AgriWatch has estimated wheat production to rise 1% on year to 110.65 million tonnes in 2025-26 (Jul-Jun), supported by a 0.7% increase in acreage and largely stable yield. Meanwhile, the government expects wheat production to be at a record 120.7 million tonnes. 

 

Amid robust wheat production and limited market demand, the government is likely to have wheat stocks piling in its godowns by the end of June. In addition, Madhya Pradesh has sought permission to procure 13.1 million tonnes of wheat, up from the current target of 10.0 million tonnes amid strong production and arrivals in the state. 

 

Madhya Pradesh stands out this season as the entire quantity of wheat procured so far in the state met the fair-average quality norms. The state has so far procured 10.4 million tonnes of wheat, up 34% on year. The state largely escaped widespread crop damage from untimely rainfall, but farmers delayed crop harvesting due to high temperatures during the grain-filling stage.

 

In Haryana, the entire 8.1 million tonnes procured was under the relaxed quality norms. Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan also procured substantial quantities under relaxed quality norms following the crop damage. Punjab and Haryana have completed wheat procurement operations, while purchases are still underway in other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. 

 

As of Monday, farmers across the country brought about 41.24 million tonnes of wheat to markets. Of this, government agencies bought nearly 85% or 34.99 million tonnes, indicating strong government presence in the market.

 

India has 51.3 million tonnes of wheat stocks in the central pool, significantly higher than the 27.5 million tonnes required to be maintained as the July opening stock. "Record wheat production and higher government procurement have significantly boosted India's foodgrain reserves, ensuring comfortable buffer stocks and strengthening domestic food security despite weather-related quality concerns," Kedia Advisory said in a note. 

 

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.

 

Following is the state-wise progressive wheat procurement as of May. 31 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	12.2	12,163,233	11,923,689	2
Haryana	7.2	8,120,596	7,082,919	14.7
Madhya Pradesh	10	10,436,865	7,775,147	34.2
Rajasthan	2.35	2,431,578	1,879,424	29.4
Uttar Pradesh	2.5	1,720,843	1,024,552	67.9
Total*	34.5	34,992,370	29,820,142	17.3

 

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

 

End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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