Haryana procures 62 lakh MT of wheat, falls short of target
Wheat buying ops is over in most of the state mandis as daily arrival has dipped below 20,000 MT
: With wheat procurement in Haryana mandis nearing end, the overall procurement in Haryana has reached 62.05 lakh metric tonnes (MT).
The procurement will be over in the state by May 15, but government agencies could procure only 62 lakh MT wheat till May 14 on minimum support price (MSP) of ₹2,125 per quintal, whereas the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had set the target of procuring 75 lakh MT.
Reports from mandis suggest that the procurement operations are over in most of the state mandis as the arrival has dipped below 20,000 MT.
The procurement figures revealed that highest 7.88 lakh MT wheat has been procured in the mandis of Sirsa district, followed by 7.33 lakh MT in Karnal, 6.33 lakh MT in Jind, 6.21 lakh MT in Kaithal, 4.77 lakh MT in Kurukshetra, 4.18 lakh MT in Hisar, 3.51 lakh MT in Sonepat, 2.86 lakh MT in Yamunanagar, 2.28 lakh MT in Panipat, 2.24 lakh MT in Ambala, 1.83 lakh MT in Palwal and 1.11 lakh MT in Bhiwani district.
According to officials deputed to monitor the procurement operations this year, the arrival has fallen below the expectations as in the beginning, the government agencies were expecting that the procurement may touch 85 lakh MT. Since the unseasonal rains in March and April caused damage to the standing crops, the agencies reduced the target to 75 lakh MT.
The government agencies are still short of 13 lakh MT to meet the target.
Though the target has not been achieved, the procurement figures have crossed the 41.86-lakh MT mark of the last year, when the state had witnessed around 50% decline in the overall wheat output, the lowest in the past 10 years. Also, this is the second consecutive year when the procurement figures have fallen below 65 lakh MT since the procurement year 2012-13, when the procurement remained 58.55 lakh MT.
Haryana Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department commissioner and secretary Pankaj Agarwal said as per the schedule, May 15 would be the last day for wheat procurement.
“Since the arrival is nil in most of the mandis, there are no plans to extend the date for procurement operations,” he added.