"Despite the fact that procurement in Madhya Pradesh began on March 20, we purchased the season's first wheat on Monday amid a large supply from farmers," Meena told reporters on March 28. Last year on the same day, no wheat was procured, and the total quantity in March last year was 10,000 tonne, according to the FCI head.
Wheat has been procured in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, Dewas, Indore, Bhopal, Shajapur, and Sehore, while the government agency is preparing to begin wheat procurement in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh on April 1.
Despite the irregular weather, wheat production is unlikely to diminish, according to Meena. "Cold temperatures encourage wheat harvests to mature more quickly." As a result, wheat production is unlikely to decrease. Wheat production is expected to reach 112 MT this year, according to the agriculture ministry's second advance estimate.
This suggests that the estimated wheat procurement target of 34.15 million tonne during the 2023-24 marketing season, which begins in April, could be met, according to Meena. FCI expects to buy 13.2 million tonne (MT) of rabi wheat from farmers across Punjab, while Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are expected to buy 8.0 million tonne and 7.5 million tonne, respectively.
Almost 3.1 million farmers have already registered to participate in wheat public procurement procedures for the 2023-24 marketing season (Apr-Mar). The FCI chairman stated that the offloading of 33.78 lakh tonnes of wheat under the open market sales scheme (OMSS) and the disbursement of an additional 70,000 tonnes to Tamil Nadu and procuring agencies such as the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) has reduced mandi prices to 22-23 per kg.
Prices are expected to fall more, he says. According to the chairman, the opening stock balance with FCI is projected to be 8.4 million tonne as of 1 April, excluding new purchase. About the wheat export prohibition, Meena stated that no exports will be permitted until domestic food security is secured.
