“Area sown to wheat is higher than last year. The current condition of wheat crop is very good. Our procurement should be normal at 300-400 lakh tonne in 2023-24,” Meena said durin a press briefing.
Last year, wheat procurement for the central pool had declined to 18.79 MT from 43.3 MT in the 2021-22 marketing year due to early onset of heat which led to a drop in production and increased private purchase of the commodity.
This led to an abnormal increase in the price of the food grain, compelling the government to sell wheat under the open market sales scheme (OMSS). The FCI, which is the nodal agency of the government for procurement and distribution of food grains for welfare schemes, has already undertaken three e-auctions to sell wheat to bulk buyers.