Wheat procurement in the country has broken a record, with 26.43 million tonnes of wheat purchased so far registering an increase of 18 per cent. Wheat procurement, which generally starts from April and continues till June, has been higher during the current marketing season due to record output of 84.27 million tonnes. FCI, the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of food grains, has achieved the procurement target of over 26 million tonnes set for 2011-12 marketing year.

According to the government data, Punjab, which contributes maximum to the government’s buffer stock, has so far procured 10.92 million tonnes, followed by Haryana at 6.87 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the rice procurement in the kharif marketing season 2010-11 has gone up marginally to 28.39 million tonnes so far as compared to 28.05 million tonnes in the year-ago period.