Government sets wheat procurement target of 30.3 million tons

12-Mar-2026 04:39 PM

New Delhi. The central government has set a wheat procurement target of 30.3 million tons for the 2026 Rabi marketing season (April-June), despite states submitting proposals for higher quantities.

This includes states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, which contribute the most wheat to the central pool. The government reduced the wheat procurement target after assessing wheat production and market dynamics.

Wheat procurement targets were set last week at a crucial meeting between food secretaries from various states and top officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Punjab and Uttar Pradesh saw the largest reductions in their proposed targets.

The Punjab government had proposed to procure 13.2 million tons of wheat, but the target for procurement was set at only 12.2 million tons. Similarly, the Food Secretary of Uttar Pradesh had requested a wheat procurement target of 3 million tonnes, but instead, the state was given a procurement target of only 1 million tonnes.

Although Uttar Pradesh is considered the country's leading wheat-producing state, government procurement there is limited because private firms purchase large quantities of wheat from farmers at prices higher than the MSP.

Government wheat procurement is scheduled to begin in the state on March 17th. Last year, approximately 1 million tonnes of wheat was procured there.

Madhya Pradesh and Haryana had proposed procurement of 8 million tonnes each, but the central government set a target of 7.8 million tonnes for Madhya Pradesh and 7.2 million tonnes for Haryana.