Huge Stocks of Rice and Wheat Available in Government Warehouses

23-Jul-2026 05:34 PM

New Delhi: A massive stock of food grains is available in the central pool, while the Food Corporation of India (FCI) continues to receive significant quantities of custom-milled rice from rice millers. Official data indicates that as of July 1, 2026, government warehouses held approximately 930 lakh tonnes of food grain stocks—an increase of 190 lakh tonnes over the 740 lakh tonnes available on July 1, 2025. During the period under review, wheat stocks rose from 360 lakh tonnes to 520 lakh tonnes, while rice stocks improved from 380 lakh tonnes to over 400 lakh tonnes. However, wheat stocks saw a decline of about 2 percent in July compared to June.

Wheat stocks in the central pool stood at 534 lakh tonnes on June 1 and dropped to 522 lakh tonnes by July 1; nevertheless, this volume was approximately 46 percent higher than the 359 lakh tonnes available on July 1, 2025. Similarly, the rice stock of 403 lakh tonnes on July 1, 2026, marked the highest level recorded for this date since 1998.

Stocks of both rice and wheat on July 1, 2026, remained well above the minimum required buffer levels. For the July–October period, government warehouses are required to hold a minimum of 275.80 lakh tonnes of wheat, comprising 245.80 lakh tonnes of operational stock and 30 lakh tonnes of strategic reserve stock.

Government procurement of wheat during the 2026 Rabi marketing season rose to 357.60 lakh tonnes, marking a 19.4 percent increase over the total procurement in 2025. The government had set a revised wheat procurement target of 346 lakh tonnes for the year, but actual procurement surpassed even that figure.