Posted on April, 3, 2023 at 12:17 am
Unseasonal rainfall since mid-March in key wheat growing areas of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which caused damages to crops in some places besides delaying harvest, has hit the procurement operations of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies.
Though the Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations officially commenced on Saturday, purchases of grain from farmers in Punjab and Haryana will be delayed till the middle of the path.
“Because of wet weather prevailing, farmers are yet to begin harvesting operations as crop has not reached maturity stage,” Manish Pajni, an official with Punjab’s food and civil supplies department at Khanna mandi, country’s biggest grain market, told FE. He said the arrivals of grain is expected to peak only after April 15.
In the last couple of days, 0.26 million tonne (MT) of wheat has been purchased in Madhya Pradesh in the procurement for 2023 season. The government is aiming to purchase 34.15 MT of wheat in the April-June marketing season, 2023
“Only a small quantity of wheat has arrived in the mandi, farmers are waiting for the crop to mature in the next 10-15 days before harvesting,” Ashok Sharma, a mandi official at Gharaunda, Karnal, Haryana said.
The fod ministry on Friday relaxed procurement norms, by allowing purchase of grains with lustre losses above 10% from farmers in Madhya Pradesh with a marginal value cut of only Rs 5.31/quintal against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2125/quintal.
“This relaxation in norms would help farmers against distress sale of the grain which has been impacted by rains this month,” a food ministry official.
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Punjab and Haryana governments are expected to ask for similar relaxation of norms, in coming weeks, the official said.
According to a senior agriculture ministry official, as per the preliminary assessment around 0.5 million hectare (MH) of wheat crop is estimated to have been damaged in – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh due to rains. Punjab and Haryana governments are currently carrying out special assessments of the crop loss.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the key wheat-growing states – Punjab (198%), Haryana (234%), Uttar Pradesh (263%), Rajasthan (403%) and Madhya Pradesh (215%) – have received more rainfall during March 1–April 2, 2023 against the normal benchmark.
For the current crop year (2022-23), the government has estimated a record wheat harvest of 112.18 MT. However private trade sources have estimated losses in wheat production in the range of 5-10%.
Total area under wheat crop is at a record 34.32 MH in the current crop year.
With consultation with the states, estimated wheat procurement targets for this season include – Punjab (13.2 MT), Madhya Pradesh (8 MT) and Haryana (7.5 MT). Currently FCI has wheat stocks of 8.4 MT against a buffer for April 1 of 7.4 MT.
To replenish the stock, the FCI and state agencies have to purchase at least 30 MT of wheat in the April-June 2023 season from farmers so that sufficient quantity of grains is available for the implementation of the National Food Security Act and creation of adequate buffer stock. FCI needs to have a buffer of 27.57 MT of wheat by July 1.
The IMD has predicted a drier April than March, allaying fears of any further delay in harvesting of rabi crops, including wheat. The dry weather conditions this month are likely to help maturing of crops and speed up harvesting, with mid-April likely to be peak season, besides boosting the government’s wheat procurement operations.
Source: Financial Express