Government agencies procure wheat at record 382 LMT

New Delhi: Wheat procurement in the current Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2020-21 touched 382 metric lakh tonnes (LMT) as on June 16, surpassing previous record of 381.48 LMT achieved during 2012-13, said Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on Wednesday.

The government agencies have procured wheat from farmers at MSP (Minimum Support Price) fixed by the central government at Rs 1,925 for the crop season 2019-20 (July-June) for the Central pool which has touched an all-time level of 382 LMT.

This has been accomplished during the trying times of Covid-19 when the whole country was under lockdown, said the Food Ministry in a statement.

The commencement of procurement was delayed by a fortnight due to the first lockdown and kicked off only from April 15 in most of the wheat surplus states as against the standard April 1. Extraordinary efforts have been made by state governments and all government procuring agencies led by Food Corporation of India (FCI) to ensure that wheat is procured from farmers without any delay and in a safe manner, said the statement. (IANS)

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