Wheat inventory with authorities could also be lowest in 16 years

The Meals Ministry is banking on the suggestions of the Agriculture Ministry that’s optimistic of a file wheat manufacturing this 12 months to replenish its official reserves. Often called buffer shares, official reserves will seemingly be the bottom within the final 16 years however across the necessary buffer norm as of April 1. “We count on that complete space beneath cultivation of wheat will enhance this 12 months and God keen if the local weather is alright, the manufacturing shall be 114 million tonnes (mt). That’s what the Agriculture Ministry has indicated to us,” mentioned Ashok Kumar Meena, Chairman and Managing Director of Meals Company of India (FCI).

Procurement beneath goal

Regardless of the Agriculture Ministry’s manufacturing estimate of 110.55 mt of wheat in 2022-23 crop 12 months, the FCI may procure solely 26.2 mt, lacking the goal of 44 mt. In 2021-22 too, the Agriculture Ministry estimated a bumper output of 107.74 mt, however the authorities procured solely 18.79 mt. Non-public merchants and trade have estimated a lot decrease wheat manufacturing than the federal government estimates in each the years. The federal government has already offered about 6 mt of wheat by way of the open market and to cooperatives thus far. It’s more likely to promote one other 2.5 mt till February-end taking the whole offtake from official reserves on this fiscal larger than the 26.2 mt procured in the course of the 2023-24 fiscal, officers mentioned. The annual requirement of wheat for all schemes (excluding the open market gross sales scheme) is about 18.4-19 mt. The buffer norm of wheat as on April 1 is 7.46 mt towards which the inventory with FCI was at 5.8 mt in 2008. After that it was marginally larger than buffer norm, at 8.06 mt in 2017 and eight.35 mt in 2023.

Acreage deficit

Meena mentioned the federal government is hopeful of shopping for a very good quantity of wheat in 2024-25, relying on market costs and crop output. He mentioned although there’s a deficit in acreage of wheat in some States, it should seemingly be coated within the subsequent few days as per Agriculture Ministry’s inputs. Until final week, wheat was planted on 320.54 lakh hectares (lh), marginally down from 324.58 lh a 12 months in the past, as per the official knowledge. “If that’s the degree of manufacturing, we’re very assured that we can procure greater than our requirement and likewise extra shares wanted for the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) for subsequent 12 months,” he mentioned.
Additional, he mentioned the federal government would attempt its greatest to offer a minimal assist worth (MSP) to wheat farmers. He mentioned as a result of the OMSS scheme began in June final week of the 2023-24 fiscal (as towards January final week within the 2022-23 fiscal), costs have stabilised and usually are not larger than it was final 12 months. “Because the wheat MSP has been hiked by 7 per cent this 12 months, we hope that lots of farmers shall be keen to offer their produce to FCI,” Meena mentioned. The federal government has determined to begin wheat procurement a month earlier (from March 1) than from common April 1 because it expects early arrival in lots of components on account of regular sowing.