The government has procured 25.07 million tonne of wheat so far in the marketing year that started April. The procurement is 18.8% higher than a year ago. The purchases are higher on year largely because wheat output in 2016-17 (Jul-Jun) is seen at a record high of 96.6 million tonne. Government procurement is highest in Punjab at 11.04 million tonne, up 10.4% on year, followed by Haryana at 7.12 million tonne, up 9.2%. In Uttar Pradesh, government agencies have bought 978,206 tn of the food grain, up 141.8% from a year ago. The Uttar Pradesh government aims to procure 8 million tonne of wheat this year. In Madhya Pradesh, the government has bought 5.17 million tonne of the grain so far, up 41.3% on year. In the benchmark market of Indore, the grain sold down 25-30 rupees. The central government aims to target of 33.0 million tonne wheat to be procured in the current marketing season, up from 22.9 million tonne on year.