New Delhi, March 26: The government is preparing to buy a record 260 lakh tonne wheat for the Central pool this season as the procurement season begins in the next few days, after the states, especially Punjab and Haryana, informed it that they are expecting record production.
“We should be prepared to buy as much wheat as farmers bring in,” a top government official said here today. The official, however, made it clear that it is not a target.
Last year, the government had purchased a record 253 lakh tonne wheat when production was at an all time high of 806.8 lakh tonne.
Meanwhile, Punjab and Haryana are expecting to procure a record 185 lakh tonne wheat or more than 10 lakh tonne from last year, for the Central pool this season, on hopes of a bumper Rabi crop.
–Agencies