The Indian government reported a significant 51 percent increase in wheat procurement in the past week, totaling 44.14 lakh tonnes (lt), compared to 29.22 lt in the same period last year. This uptick has helped reduce the overall procurement deficit. A substantial portion of this increase occurred in Madhya Pradesh, where approximately half of the total 52 lt of grain purchased within the state to date was procured from May 1-7. This development has raised hopes that the Union government can meet its procurement target of 345 lt for the 2026-27 season, despite the current overall purchases lagging.
As of May 7, 2026, the Centre has procured 276.67 lt of wheat, which is a 3 percent decrease from 285.53 lt during the same period last year. The gap was previously reported at 9 percent until April 30 and 39 percent until April 16. In Madhya Pradesh, procurement has somewhat stabilized, reaching 52.04 lt, down 33 percent from 77.2 lt last year, improving from a 59 percent decrease noted until April 30.
In Punjab, procurement figures reached 120.67 lt, up 5 percent from 115.27 lt a year earlier. The Centre has set a target of 112 lt for the 2026-27 season, down from 119.19 lt in 2025-26. Notably, most wheat purchased this year in Punjab has been classified under relaxed quality standards (URS) due to widespread lustre loss in several districts caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms. A previous reporting error had initially listed URS quantities as negligible, but this has since been corrected.
In Haryana, the Centre has procured nearly 80 lt of wheat, surpassing the target of 72 lt, and reflecting a 15 percent increase from 69.57 lt in the previous year. In the 2025-26 season, procurement from Haryana reached 71.43 lt. Daily arrivals on May 7 showed a significant decrease, with only 32,281 tonnes arriving in Punjab compared to 97,731 tonnes last year, and 9,463 tonnes in Haryana against 18,415 tonnes from the previous year. Both states are scheduled to procure until May 15.
In Madhya Pradesh, wheat purchases in the past week amounted to 24.55 lt, a marked increase from just 9.62 lt during the same week last year, as most transactions were completed in April. The state government faces pressure from farmer protests and tractor marches related to slow procurement, an issue raised by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with State Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Overall, wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh has reached 52.04 lt, down from 77.2 lt last year, with the Centre raising the state’s overall target from 78 lt at the season’s start to 100 lt in late April. In the previous season, the Centre procured 77.74 lt from Madhya Pradesh.
Procurement in Uttar Pradesh has risen to 9.75 lt from 9.2 lt, while Rajasthan reported procurement of 13.51 lt, down from 13.99 lt last year. Bihar has seen an increase in procurement to 24,556 tonnes, a 54 percent rise from 15,974 tonnes a year ago. Additionally, the Centre has revised the purchase targets upward for Uttar Pradesh (from 10 lt to 25 lt), Rajasthan (from 21 lt to 23.5 lt), and Bihar (from 0.18 lt to 1.8 lt).
State procuring agencies have been instructed to separately store and account for wheat procured under relaxed specifications due to unseasonal rains in March and April, which resulted in higher moisture content and issues like shrinkage and loss of lustre, pushing a significant portion of the crop outside the quality standards necessary for procurement.
Published on May 8, 2026.
