Rain or hail, Punjab main wheat contributor to Central Pool

Ludhiana, Apr 13 (UNI) Despite inclement weather conditions in March, Punjab will again be the main contributor of wheat to the Central Pool this season.

The border state which is targeting a wheat production of 145 lakh tonnes, is expected to contribute around 85 lakh tonnes to the Central Pool. Last year, Punjab fell short of the target of 80 lakh tonnes, due to a fall in the wheat production, attributed to high night temperatures during the winters.

Disclosing this to mediapersons here today, Food Corporation of India (FCI) Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) Alok Sinha said around 150 lakh tonnes was the Central Pool target fixed this season. However, this was the in tial target and is expected to be revised as the wheat production and yield in Punjab and Haryana had been above expections this year despite the rains last month.

The revised target would be around 200 lakh tonnes, he said while pointing out that last year it was around 160 lakh tonnes adding that the production of wheat this year was expected to be around 40 lakh tonnes more than last year.

The CMD said while Punjab would contribute 85 lakh tonnes to the Central Pool, Haryana is expected to contribute 45 lakh tonnes, followed by Bihar and Uttar Pradesh with 10 lakh tonnes each. Other states like Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and a few others are also expected to make some contribution.

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