Govt hopeful of record 112 mn tonne wheat output despite damage to crop due to bad weather

Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Thursday said the government is hopeful of a record wheat production of 112.18 million tonne in 2022-23 crop year ending June despite inclement weather conditions in some parts of the country affecting grains quality.

The government has projected a record wheat production at 112.18 million tonne in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June). Wheat production had declined marginally to 107.74 million tonne in the previous year due to heat wave in some states.

'Because of the inclement weather in the last two weeks, there has been some damage to the wheat crop. But the production loss will be minimal. We are hopeful of achieving the overall production target of 112.2 million tonne,' Chopra said.

The secretary said quality norms for wheat procurement has been relaxed in Madhya Pradesh and the Centre will soon take a call on relaxing quality norms for wheat procurement in Punjab and Haryana.

The procurement by state-owned FCI and state agencies have already started in many states.

The Centre on Monday said about 8-10% of the wheat crop is estimated to have been damaged due to recent untimely rains and hailstorms in key producing states, but better yield prospects in late-sown areas are expected to make up for the production loss.

Despite the recent inclement weather, Agriculture Commissioner P K Singh had asserted that the country's total wheat production will touch a record 112.2 million tonne this year as per the second estimate of the agriculture ministry.