“This year, the wheat procurement from across the country is expected to be between 135 and 150 lakh tonnes,” FCI Chairman and Managing Director Alok Sinha told reporters here today. He said, “The major factors behind increase in lifting would be higher MSP, good crop in Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh, and low interest of private buyers in buying the crop.”

The domestic wheat prices are stabilised at the moment. Therefore, private buyers will not be as much aggressive as they were last year.

Expressing serious concern over the dwindling arrival of wheat in Punjab and Haryana, Sinha said the wheat-growing farmers in this region might be selling crops directly to other states, causing huge losses to both the governments. “This has been happening in Punjab and Haryana despite the fact that the production is quite good in these states.

Maybe, the farmers are selling their crops outside the mandis, thus not recording their transactions. As a result, the state governments are losing around Rs 500 crore per year,” he added.