Government agencies have procured more than 29 million tonnes of wheat so far for the 2025–26 rabi marketing season, marking the highest collection since the 2021–22 season. This volume is 16% higher than what was purchased during the same period last year, reports Financial Express.
The procurement, carried out by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and various state-level agencies, comes amid total mandi arrivals of 37.48 million tonnes across the country. Officials have expressed confidence in meeting the season’s target of 33 million tonnes, supported by favorable production estimates of over 115 million tonnes for the 2024–25 crop year.
This increase is expected to strengthen the government’s grain reserves, which are essential for the public distribution system and market intervention programs. For comparison, wheat procurement stood at 26.6 million tonnes in the 2024–25 season and 26.2 million tonnes in 2023–24. The highest-ever procurement was in 2021–22 at 43.3 million tonnes, but this dropped significantly to 18.8 million tonnes in 2022–23 due to lower output.
Among the states, Punjab has contributed the most with 11.71 million tonnes, followed by Madhya Pradesh (7.77 million tonnes), Haryana (7.03 million tonnes), Rajasthan (1.49 million tonnes), and Uttar Pradesh (0.96 million tonnes). Procurement in Madhya Pradesh has already been completed for the season.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s top wheat-producing state, has seen slow progress in procurement, managing to buy less than 1 million tonnes so far—far below its seasonal target of 3 million tonnes. This comes despite unofficial curbs on providing railway rakes to private traders for transporting wheat out of the state.
Officials have indicated that, given the healthy stock levels, the government may consider increasing wheat allocations to states under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
