Govt extends wheat procurement season till May 31
Premium- This comes a day after the union government announced a ban on wheat exports in order to check rising wheat prices
Amid a sharp decline in wheat procurement this year, the government on Sunday extended the wheat procurement season till May 31. This comes a day after the union government announced a ban on wheat exports in order to check rising wheat prices.
According to a notification issued by the ministry of consumer affairs, the procurement of wheat in the current Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) till May 14 stood at 180 lakh metric tonnes compared to 367 lakh metric tonnes during the corresponding period last year.
“To ensure that no wheat farmer faces inconvenience, Modi Sarkar extends wheat procurement season till 31 May 2022. We are committed to ensuring farm prosperity," Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in a social media post.
Heatwaves during the latter part of March, especially in northwest India, have impacted wheat production. This forced the government to revise wheat production estimates, lowering it to 105 million tonnes this year against 111 million tonnes expected earlier. Wheat production stood at 109 million tonnes last year, official numbers showed.
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Wheat prices have risen sharply in the domestic as well as an international market after the Ukraine war as Russia and Ukraine contributed nearly a third of the wheat exports. While retail prices of wheat per kg jumped over 19%, the price of ‘atta’ has jumped over 14% during the year.