Government procurement of wheat crosses 3 crore tonnes due to better performance of Rajasthan
20-Jun-2025 11:59 AM
New Delhi. A good amount of wheat was procured for the central pool in the western state of Rajasthan during the extended procurement period, pushing total government procurement of this key Rabi season food grain above 300 lakh (3 crore) tonnes at the national level—marking the highest in the last four years.
Notably, Rajasthan procured 2,25,516 tonnes of wheat in the last 25 days alone, surpassing its target of 20 lakh tonnes and reaching over 21 lakh tonnes. This is significantly higher than the 12 lakh tonnes procured in the state last year.
Crossing the 300 lakh tonnes mark in wheat procurement will enable the government to run its various welfare schemes efficiently and intervene in the domestic market to stabilize prices when necessary.
While procurement has ended in major producing states like Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, it is still ongoing in states such as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Government wheat procurement for the central pool had peaked at an all-time high of 433.44 lakh tonnes in 2021. However, it dropped to 187.92 lakh tonnes in 2022. In 2023, procurement rose to 262 lakh tonnes and further to 266.10 lakh tonnes in 2024.
The procurement target was 444 lakh tonnes in 2022, 341.50 lakh tonnes in 2023, and 373 lakh tonnes in 2024. For the Rabi marketing season of 2025, the target was set at 332.70 lakh tonnes, against which 300.33 lakh tonnes have been procured so far.
This year, procurement in most major producing states fell short of targets—except for Rajasthan, where wheat production during the 2024-25 Rabi season is estimated at 113.80 lakh tonnes. According to official sources, as of May 25, 2,97,75,846 tonnes of wheat had been procured at the national level.
Afterward, an additional 6,000 tonnes from Uttar Pradesh, 350 tonnes from Bihar, and 2,25,516 tonnes from Rajasthan pushed the total to 300,02,919 tonnes as of June 18, 2025. The pace of procurement has now slowed significantly.