Govt buys record 35 mt wheat; plans to hire extra storage

With wheat procurement touching an all-time high of over 35 million tonne (mt) this year, the government is planning to hire extra storage to stock the grain before monsoon hits north and central India. Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the government’s nodal agency for procurement and distribution of wheat and rice. FCI along with state agencies has bought record 35.19 mt of wheat in the 2018-19 marketing year (April-March) on the back of bumper crop. These agencies together have foodgrain storage capacity of around 80 mt. “There is more stock. We will have to make arrangement to store wheat. We are looking at alternatives. We are thinking of hiring the storage space,” said a senior food ministry official. Because of record procurement, some quantity of wheat is kept in cover and plinth storage in states like Punjab and Haryana. This needs to be shifted to a safe place before rains approach.