In anticipation of a shortfall in inventory, attributable to over 16% of the annual drop in wheat procurement by companies, the federal government on Tuesday revised grain allocation beneath Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from May to September 2022.
As per the revised guideline, in the course of the remaining 5 months of section VI of PMGKAY, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will allocate 3.5 million tonne (MT) of wheat to states as per the sooner communication FCI was to produce 9 MT of grain.
Rice allocation throughout May-September, 2022, has been revised to 16 MT towards the sooner norm of 10.8 MT. Launched in 2020 as a part of the Covid-19 reduction measure, beneath the PMGKAY scheme 5 kg of grains are supplied free each month in addition to extremely subsidised foodgrain to greater than 81 beneficiaries beneath National Food Security Act.
“To mitigate scarcity like situation and to ensure availability of sufficient stocks as per stocking norms, it has been decided to revise allocation during May-September 2022,” in response to the meals ministry’s communication to states.
This transfer to allocate extra rice than wheat got here after wheat inventory held with FCI as of May 1 dropped to a five-year low of 31 MT on May 1.
Sources advised FE that due to the low shares, the federal government lowered wheat supplied beneath the scheme with rice, whose shares are ample. As of May 1, FCI has 33.15 MT of rice whereas one other 20 MT is receivable from the millers. This is towards a buffer norm of 13.58 MT firstly of April.
Wheat procurement is predicted to be over in every week in the important thing rising states of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The authorities companies are struggling to realize wheat procurement of 20 MT this season as arrivals in mandis have dropped considerably.
The minimal promoting worth (MSP) of wheat stood at 16.8 MT on Monday, down by greater than 42% from the year-ago degree.
Due to personal purchases by the merchants in anticipation of provide constraints in coming months and a surge in export alternatives, procurement in Punjab — the most important contributor to the central pool — has declined to 9.05 MT from 11.47 MT final 12 months.
The sharpest fall in wheat procurement this session has been in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh state authorities has bought simply 0.15 MT of wheat to date, whereas it had procured 1.33 MT throughout the identical interval in 2021. In different key producing states akin to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, wheat procurement has been somewhat sluggish to date.
The mandi costs throughout states are ruling at the very least Rs 200 to Rs 250 per quintal above the MSP of Rs 2,015 per quintal introduced by the federal government for this season.
This time, wheat procurement is being keenly watched as a surge in exports contemplating the disruption in world provides over the Ukraine-Russia battle has pushed up demand for wheat from India.
While India is aiming at exporting greater than 10 MT of wheat in 2022-23, given the decrease degree of procurement and shares held with FCI, the federal government is more likely to regulate exports to keep away from home provide constraints.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”