Wheat Procurement Crosses Last Year’s Figures, Ensuring Food Security: Government Update
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced that wheat procurement for the Rabi marketing season 2024-25 has exceeded last year’s figures, ensuring a comfortable supply to meet demand across the country. With a total of 262.48 lakh tonnes of wheat already procured, surpassing the previous year’s total of 262.02 lakh tonnes, the ministry reported significant progress in procurement efforts. This procurement has benefitted 22.31 lakh farmers, with a total MSP outflow of Rs 59,715 crores. The major contributing states include Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
In addition to wheat procurement, rice procurement is also progressing smoothly, with 728.42 lakh tonnes of paddy equivalent to 489.15 LMT of rice procured during the Kharif marketing season 2023-24. This procurement, directly from 98.26 lakh farmers, resulted in a total MSP outflow of approximately Rs 160,472 crores. With the combined stock of wheat and rice in the central pool surpassing 600 LMT, the government assured that the country is in a comfortable position to meet its food grain requirements, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and other welfare schemes.
Moreover, while the government has prohibited the export of non-Basmati white rice since July 2023 to maintain domestic food security, it has permitted exports based on specific conditions. Looking ahead, the Southwest Monsoon’s onset, predicted by the IMD for June 1, will be crucial, especially for kharif crops. With India’s cropping seasons – summer, kharif, and rabi – heavily reliant on monsoon rains, the timely arrival and distribution of rainfall are essential for agricultural productivity.
