New Delhi, May 25 : The Centre has procured over 29.7 million tonnes (MT) of wheat so far during the 2025-26 rabi marketing season, which extends from April to June. This is the highest procurement since the 2021-22 season, official figures showed.

The wheat procurement this year is up 13.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, with purchases nearing completion in most major producing states, according to data compiled by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi expects the final figure for wheat procurement to touch 320-325 lakh tonnes due to the record harvest this year.

Total wheat purchase stood at 265.9 lakh tonnes in 2024-25. The government has set a wheat procurement target of 312 lakh tonnes for the 2025-26 marketing year, the minister said,

FCI data shows all five major wheat procuring states -- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh -- have procured more wheat in the current year, as compared to last year.

About Rs 62,346.23 crore in minimum support price payments have been made, benefiting 2.27 million farmers, the data showed.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Monday that India's foodgrain production has increased by over 106 lakh tonnes to 1,663.91 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, which represents a 6.83 per cent increase over the corresponding figure of the previous year.

"In 2023-24, the country's total foodgrain production was around 15,57.6 lakh tonnes. I am glad to tell you that in 2024-25, it has become 16,63.91 lakh tonnes," Chouhan said at a press conference recently.

"The production of the rabi crop was 1600.06 lakh tonnes in 2023-24, now it has increased to 1645.27 lakh tonnes," the minister said.

The Union Minister said that his ministry's vision was not only to meet the country's own food requirement, but also to make India the food basket of the world.

/IANS