Wheat purchase till Baisakhi breaks 15-year record in Punjab

Wheat procurement in the ongoing rabi marketing season reached 17 lakh tonnes till April 13, setting a 15-year record for this period

Wheat procurement in the ongoing rabi marketing season reached 17 lakh tonnes till April 13, setting a 15-year record for this period.

The rabi marketing season had started on April 1, with mandis and purchase centres set up across Punjab. (HT Photo)

“The total purchase of wheat touched 17 lakh MT on April 13 which was the highest purchase on this date in the last 15 years,” said an official spokesperson on Thursday.

The rabi marketing season had started on April 1, with mandis and purchase centres set up across the state. Baisakhi, which marks the harvest season in Punjab, was celebrated on Thursday.

Over 20 lakh tonnes of wheat arrived till Wednesday, with government agencies — Pungrain, Punsup, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and Markfed besides the Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) — procuring nearly 17 lakh tonnes and wheat purchase by private players reaching one lakh tonnes.

The spokesperson further said that this year the state government has already credited payments worth ₹828 crore into the bank accounts of farmers for wheat purchase. Additional payment worth ₹871 crore has been cleared and will be credited into the accounts of farmers, he said.

With Ukraine and Russia — two major wheat exporters worldwide — locked in war, Punjab and other wheat-producing states in India are witness an upswing in crop purchases. Punjab has made arrangements for procuring 135 lakh tonnes of wheat in the ongoing season.