Govt wheat stocks were at 27.8 mln tn as of Sep 1, up from 24.2 mln tn a year ago. The rise in stocks was because of more procurement this year. For 2017-18 (Apr-Mar), the government procured 30.5 mln tn of wheat from farmers at a minimum support price up from 22.9 mln tn the previous year. A major part of the procurement was used to replenish stocks after they fell to a multi-year low of 8.6 mln tn on Apr 1 due to poor output in the past two years, and high sales through the open market sales scheme. Though the current wheat stocks were comfortable, they might again see a decline if sales through the open market sales scheme are high.