India increases wheat procurement to stabilize domestic market

The Government of India has raised its wheat procurement target under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme by 15% to 34.5 million tonnes for the current season, compared with the earlier plan of 30 million tonnes. The decision comes amid efforts to support farmers whose crops have been damaged by adverse weather conditions.

According to Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, state-wise procurement targets have also been revised. Madhya Pradesh is now expected to procure around 10 million tonnes of wheat, Uttar Pradesh 2.5 million tonnes, Rajasthan 2.35 million tonnes, and Uttarakhand about 5,000 tonnes. Some wheat is also likely to be procured from Delhi.

The government has also relaxed wheat quality norms in key producing states, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, in order to enable higher purchases from farmers affected by unseasonal rains and hailstorms.

The increased procurement will add to opening stocks of around 22 million tonnes, taking total available wheat to approximately 56.5 million tonnes. At the same time, wheat production for the 2025/26 marketing year has been revised down to 110–120 million tonnes due to weather-related losses in major growing regions.

In this context, Indian authorities aim to support farm incomes while stabilizing the domestic grain market amid lower output and rising reliance on state procurement.

Tags: prices, wheat, India, stocks