BATHINDA: Even before the amount of wheat procured in Punjab could reach close to 100 lakh metric tonnes, the crop’s arrival has gone down drastically in the state’s mandis, signalling that wheat purchase targets would not be met this year.
Punjab had targeted to procure 130 lakh metric tonnes of wheat. Reasons for the decline in procurement include big farmers holding back grains as they expect a surge in wheat prices due to surge in export demand to Russia-Ukraine war, and less yield due to grains getting shrivelled because of the ongoing heay wave.
