New Delhi | Wheat procurement for the 2024-25 marketing year has surpassed last year's total of 262.02 lakh tonnes, boosted by strong contributions from the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, the government said on Friday.

In a statement, the government said 262.48 lakh tonnes of rabi (winter)-sown grain has already been purchased for the central pool, benefiting 22.31 lakh farmers, with a minimum support price outflow of Rs 59,715 crore.

The major procuring states were Punjab with 124.26 lakh tonnes, Haryana with 71.49 lakh tonnes, Madhya Pradesh with 47.78 lakh tonnes, Rajasthan with 9.66 lakh tonnes and Uttar Pradesh with 9.07 lakh tonnes.

Wheat procurement normally runs from April to March, but the Centre this year allowed states to make purchases based on crop arrivals. In most states, the procurement began in early March.

The government has set a wheat procurement target of 300-320 million tonnes for the 2024-25 marketing year.

Rice procurement is also progressing smoothly, with 728.42 lakh tonnes of paddy, equivalent to 489.15 lakh tonnes of rice, procured directly from 98.26 lakh farmers at a minimum support price outflow of around Rs 1,60,472 crore.

The combined stock of wheat and rice currently exceeds 600 lakh tonnes in the central pool, the government said, putting the country in a comfortable position to meet its foodgrain requirements under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and other welfare schemes, as well as for market interventions.