The procurement of wheat by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies for the ongoing rabi marketing session may cross a record 22 million tonne (MT) because of strong arrivals, a senior government official said.
Till date, around 21.7 MT of wheat has already been procured by agencies. This procurement is close to double of what government agencies could procure last year. During 2007-8, the procurement of wheat was only 11.13 MT.
The government has set a procurement target of 15 MT for the current year for ensuring enough wheat for the buffer stock and public distribution system (PDS). The record wheat procurement follows after two years of short-fall forcing the government to import wheat. India imported more than 1.8 MT of wheat in 2007 as it could only procure about 11 MT against the target of 15 MT.