Amid a surge in exports which has pushed mandi costs above the minimal help value (MSP), wheat procurement by Food Corporation of India and state authorities companies has declined. MSP purchases of wheat stood at near 7 million tonne (MT) on Sunday, down 32% from the year-ago stage.
According to a meals ministry assertion on Monday, wheat has been bought by companies from 0.586 million farmers up to now with a MSP worth of Rs 1,391 crore.
Currently, mandi costs of wheat in key producing states like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are ruling at 8-10% above the MSP of Rs 2,015 per quintal.
The sharpest fall in wheat procurement this session has been in Uttar Pradesh, the largest producer of grain, the place the state authorities has bought simply 30,206 tonne of wheat so removed from 6,155 farmers, whereas it had procured 0.35 MT of wheat from 67,395 farmers throughout the identical interval in 2021.
According to an Uttar Pradesh meals division official, primary objective for the MSP-based wheat procurement initiative was to make sure that farmers aren’t paid costs under MSP and there was no misery sale of the commodity. “Now that farmers are getting better prices in the market, our purpose is achieved,” the official mentioned.
More than 3.21 MT of wheat has been procured in Punjab up to now in opposition to 3.44 MT of grain bought throughout similar interval final 12 months. Punjab is the second-biggest producer of wheat within the nation and likewise contributes the best quantity of grain to the central pool.
Madhya Pradesh, which had introduced incentives corresponding to abolition of mandi taxes and different levies from the wheat bought for export, state civil provides company until Sunday has procured 0.9 MT of wheat in opposition to 1.7 MT bought throughout the identical interval final 12 months.
The procurement goal of 12.9 MT for the state, which contributes the second largest quantity of grain to the central pool, would decline by greater than 6-7 MT.
In Haryana up to now, wheat buy from farmers has declined by greater than 62% to 2.77 MT in opposition to 4.45 MT of buy throughout the identical interval final 12 months.
In different key producing states corresponding to Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the wheat procurement has been reasonably sluggish up to now.
“We are currently buying wheat at the price of Rs 22.50/kg, which is above the MSP of Rs 20.15/kg,” Shammi Agarwal, managing director, Pansari Group, a Delhi-based FMCG main, said.
This time, wheat procurement is being keenly watched as a surge in exports due to disruption in world provides over the Ukraine-Russia battle has pushed up demand for wheat from India.
Recently, Egypt, one of many largest importers of grain globally, has in precept given approval for importing the grain from India.
India is aiming at exporting 10 MT of wheat in 2022-23. In 2021-22, India exported a report 7 MT of wheat.
There are additionally issues in regards to the drop in wheat manufacturing in 2021-22 crop 12 months (July-June) due to unusually excessive temperatures in the course of the finish of March which had impacted the yield. However, the agriculture ministry remains to be sticking to its estimates of 111.32 MT of wheat manufacturing this 12 months in comparison with 103.88 MT within the 2020-21 crop 12 months.
Food ministry officers have said that the goal of 44 MT of grain procurement from farmers throughout all of the rising states could be diminished by round 10 MT as a result of a attainable surge in exports and excessive mandi costs.
Official procurement session is from April-June, whereas a bulk of the wheat crop arrives within the mandis in the course of the first six weeks of the procurement session.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”