The government today said it has procured 16.5 million tonne wheat since the start of the fiscal year this month, up 12.8% from a year ago. The procurement was the highest in Punjab, where the government has purchased 6.4 million tonne wheat so far, up 12% from the year-ago period. In Haryana, another major producer of wheat, the government has bought 5.7 million tonne of the grain, up 5.6% from a year ago. The government has purchased 3.6 million tonne wheat in Madhya Pradesh, up nearly 15% on year, while in Uttar Pradesh, it has bought 321,105 tonne so far, sharply higher than 105,246 tonne in the year-ago period. The Uttar Pradesh government has set a target to procure 8 million tonne wheat this year, much above the central government’s 3-mln-tn target for the state. The central government has set a target to procure 33.0 million tonne of wheat for the current marketing season, up from 22.9 million tonne a year ago.