Govt wheat buys up 16% YoY as of Mon; MP seeks higher procurement target
India’s wheat procurement for 2026-27 rose 15.6% to 34.36 million tonnes, nearing the 34.5 million-tonne target despite early weather disruptions. Madhya Pradesh led growth with 31% higher purchases. However, 70% of procured wheat was bought under relaxed quality norms following rain and hailstorm-related crop damage.
NEW DELHI – Reversing the slow start seen in the last two months, the Central government’s wheat procurement in the ongoing 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) rabi marketing season rose nearly 16% on year as of Monday. With purchases already nearing the procurement target and procurement scheduled to continue for another month, the government’s wheat procurement is likely to exceed its target.
As of Monday, the government’s wheat purchases rose 15.6% on year to 34.36 million tonnes against the procurement target of 34.50 million tonnes. Wheat procurement window typically runs from April to June, but was advanced to mid-March this time.
In early April, wheat procurement was down 60% on year due to delayed harvesting and crop damage caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms in several states. However, arrivals picked up pace as the season progressed.
“Wheat procurement is likely to exceed the (current target) of 34.5 million tonnes,” a government official said. The Centre may also raise the procurement target further as Madhya Pradesh has sought permission to procure 13.1 million tonnes of wheat, up from the current target of 10.0 million tonnes amid strong production and arrivals in the state, the official said. If Madhya Pradesh’s request is approved, this will result in the second upward revision in the Centre’s wheat procurement target for 2026-27.
Despite the strong wheat procurement pace, a large share of wheat bought this season was of sub-par quality. Nearly 70% of wheat bought so far, or 23.27 million tonnes, was purchased under relaxed quality specifications, indicating widespread crop damage caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March.
Under the relaxed quality norms, farmers can sell wheat with up to 15% shrivelled and broken grains, compared with the earlier limit of 6%. The permissible limit for loss of lustre has also been relaxed up to 50%. These quality relaxations were unlikely to materially impact the nutritional value of wheat, but could reduce its shelf life.
The procurement trend broadly aligns with Agriwatch’s analysis on the impact of unfavourable weather conditions on wheat production. “Notably, the impact on grain quality is seen as more pronounced than the loss in volume,” the private agri-commodity research said in late April. Despite weather disturbances, Agriwatch estimates India’s wheat production to rise 1% on year to 110.65 million tonnes in 2025-26 (Jul-Jun).
STATE-WISE PROCUREMENTS
Punjab and Haryana have completed wheat procurement operations, while purchases are still ongoing in other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan among others.
Punjab’s wheat purchases were 2% higher on year and it almost achieved its procurement target of 12.2 million tonnes. Haryana exceeded its target of 7.2 million tonnes and bought 14% more than the last year. But the entire 8.1 million tonnes procured in Haryana was under the relaxed quality norms. Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan also procured substantial quantities under relaxed quality norms following the crop damage.
Madhya Pradesh stands out this season as the entire quantity of wheat procured so far in the state met the fair-average quality norms. The state has so far procured 10.2 million tonnes, up 31% on year. The state largely escaped widespread crop damage from untimely rainfall but farmers had to delay the crop harvesting due to increased temperatures during the grain-filling stage.
As of Monday, farmers across the country had brought to markets about 40.23 million tonnes of wheat. Of this, government agencies bought over 85% or 34.36 million tonnes, indicating a strong government presence in the market.
The government has entered the wheat market this season with comfortable wheat stocks in its godowns. Therefore, the primary objective is to support prices and prevent distress sales by farmers rather than aggressively build stocks, according to officials. Wheat stocks in the central pool as of May. 1 were up 96% on year at 42.8 million tonnes. According to the buffer norm, the Food Corp. of India is required to stock 7.5 million tonnes as of Apr. 1, which is expected to rise every subsequent months due to procurements. The buffer norm for Jul. 1 is 27.6 million tonnes.
The government procures food grains to maintain buffer stocks, feed 800 million people through welfare programmes, and check the rise in retail prices through open market sales.
Following is the state-wise progressive wheat procurement as of Monday compared with the year-ago period and the percentage difference:
| States | Target (in mln tn) | 2026-27 (in tonnes) | 2025-26 (in tonnes) | % chng |
| Punjab | 12.2 | 12,163,233 | 11,923,689 | 2.01 |
| Haryana | 7.2 | 8,120,596 | 7,082,919 | 14.7 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 10 | 10,209,636 | 7,775,147 | 31.3 |
| Rajasthan | 2.35 | 2,178,261 | 1,879,424 | 15.9 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 2.5 | 1,588,433 | 1,020,769 | 55.6 |
| Total* | 34.5 | 34,357,692 | 29,715,536 | 15.6 |
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Source : INFORMIST
