India’s Wheat Procurement Reaches 266 Lakh Metric Tonnes, Benefiting Over 22 Lakh Farmers
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured 266 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat during the Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2024-25. This is an increase from last year’s 262 LMT.
More than 22 lakh Indian farmers have benefited from this purchase, with Rs. 61 lakh crore directly credited to their bank accounts. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat this year was set at Rs. 2275 per quintal.
Among the major wheat-producing states, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have shown significant improvements. Uttar Pradesh recorded a procurement of 9.31 LMT compared to 2.20 LMT last year, while Rajasthan achieved 12.06 LMT, up from 4.38 LMT in the previous season.
The government usually starts wheat procurement on April 1st, but this year it was postponed by about a fortnight for the convenience of farmers. The substantial quantity of wheat procurement has helped FCI ensure a steady flow of food grains into the Public Distribution System (PDS), meeting the annual requirement of approximately 184 LMT of wheat under various welfare schemes.
In addition to wheat, during the Kharif Marketing Season 2023-24, paddy procurement for the central pool exceeded 775 LMT, benefiting more than one crore farmers with disbursements of over Rs. 1.74 lakh crore.
