"Wheat procurement is progressing smoothly," a senior food ministry official told PTI
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With India likely to harvest a record wheat output, the Centre on Thursday said it is confident of achieving wheat procurement target of 34.2 million tonne and will soon take a call on relaxing quality norms for buying in Punjab and Haryana in view of crop damage due to untimely rains. Earlier in the day while announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said the expectation of a record rabi harvest bodes well for easing of food price pressure. "There is already evidence of a correction in wheat prices in March on supply side interventions by the government. The impact of the recent unseasonal rains in some parts of the country, however, needs to be watched," the Governor said. Addressing a press conference, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the government is hopeful of a record wheat output of 112.2 million tonne in 2022-23 crop year ending June, despite inclement weather conditions in some parts of the country affecting grain quality. Th
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal Tuesday sought immediate release of compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to farmers whose wheat crop was destroyed by untimely rain and hailstorms. The complete destruction of the wheat crop in nearly half of the state is there for all to see. It has also been corroborated by agricultural experts, said Badal in a statement here. What was he (Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann) waiting for? Badal asked. Untimely rains, hailstorm and high-velocity winds have caused damage to wheat and other crops in many areas of Punjab. Badal said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had promised to give compensation immediately after crop damage on the 'Delhi Model' and should keep its promise instead of delaying the assessment procedure to deny relief to farmers as it had done last year also. Farmers have not received compensation for damage done to wheat and cotton crops last year which should also be given immediately, he added. Badal said the SAD wi
Procurement of wheat for Rabi marketing season 2023-24 has been to the tune of 10,727 metric tonnes till March 27 as compared to nil procurement last year.
Wheat production will not be affected due to recent rains, confident of achieving the output target, he added
Prices were hovering just below state's support price in several markets
According to FCI data, the corporation has so far managed to sell roughly 1.8 mt of wheat, of the earmarked 3 mt, in the first three auctions that are about 60 per cent of the allocated quantity
States are allowed to purchase wheat from FCI for their own scheme at the proposed reserve prices without participating in e-auction
Area sown to wheat has increased marginally by 0.37 per cent to 341.85 lakh hectare (ha) so far in the ongoing rabi season, with higher areas reported in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar, the government data showed. According to a senior agriculture ministry official, about 5-6 lakh ha more wheat area is expected to be reported from north India, especially Uttar Pradesh, where the sowing of wheat has got delayed due to sugarcane harvesting. "The wheat crop condition is good as of now. Tiller per plan is average at 6-10 due to better weather situations. One spell of rain in a day or two will further boost the plant growth," the official told PTI. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, begins in October, while harvesting starts in March/April. As per the latest agriculture ministry's data, wheat has been sown in 341.85 lakh ha as of January 27 against 340.56 lakh ha in the year-ago period. The higher area is reported from Rajasthan (2.52 lakh ha), Maharashtra (1.28 lakh ha),
Procurement of wheat and paddy in quantity and value terms has risen significantly in the last eight years, on account of a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) and purchases made from more states, a senior food ministry official said on Tuesday. The number of farmers covered under the MSP operations has also increased because of the higher quantity of wheat and paddy procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for the procurement and distribution of foodgrains. "The central procurement of wheat and paddy has increased substantially between the 2013-14 and 2021-22 marketing seasons. The procurement has become broad-based and we are purchasing grains from more states now. MSP has increased significantly," said Subodh Singh, additional secretary in the food ministry. The procurement is taking place in Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Tripura, he said, adding that the FCI has started buying paddy from Rajasthan. Production of wheat and paddy has also risen since
Last year, wheat production had declined to 106.84 million tonne due to heat wave in key growing states
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