Govt Says Sufficient Foodgrain Stocks Under Central Pool Available; Wheat Above Buffer Norm

Amid reports of wheat stock hitting a multi-year low, the food ministry on Thursday said the government has sufficient foodgrain stocks under central pool to meet the requirement of NFSA and its other welfare schemes as well as for additional allocation of PMGKAY. It added that about 159 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat will be available as on January 1, 2023, which is well above the buffer norm requirement of 138 LMT of of January 1.

As on December 12, around 182 LMT of wheat was available in the central pool, it added.

“Government of India is well aware of the price scenario of wheat and is constantly monitoring it regularly on a weekly basis along with other commodities and taking corrective measures, as and when required. The Government of India has taken proactive steps to ward off any further price rise and export regulations were imposed with effect from May 13, 2022. Further, the allocations under NFSA as well as PMGKAY have also been revised in favour of rice for having sufficient Wheat stock in Central Pool to cater to the requirements of welfare schemes,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a statement on Thursday.

It also said the government has enhanced the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat crop this year to Rs 2,125 per quintal against the last year’s MSP of Rs 2,015 per quintal for RMS 2022-23.

“Thus, with the increase in MSP of Rs 110 per quintal, coupled with fairly good climatic conditions, it is expected that the production and procurement of wheat during next season shall remain normal,” it said.

Wheat procurement for the next season would commence from April 2023 and as per initial assessment, there has been a fair increase in the sowing of wheat crop as compared to last year.

Wheat acreage has also increased by 25 per cent so far in the onging rabi season at 255.76 lakh hectares mainly on higher sowing area in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the government data showed. The area under coverage for wheat, which is the major crop in rabi (winter-sown) season, stood at 203.91 lakh hectares in the same period last year.

The ministry said the government has ensured that sufficient stock of food grains is available in the central pool to meet the requirement of all the welfare schemes across the country and prices remain under control.

“Though procurement of wheat during last season was on lower side due to lesser production coupled with selling by farmers at prices higher than MSP in the open market consequent to geo-political situation, yet enough stock of wheat will still be available in central pool to cater to the needs of the country till the time next wheat crop arrives,” the ministry said.

According to a recent Reuters‘ report quoting government data, wheat stock in the country has fallen to its lowest in six years and the prices have also jumped to a record high on rising demand and falling inventories. The total wheat reserves in state stores stood at 19 million tonnes at the start of this month, lower than 37.85 million tonnes on December 1, 2021.

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