Chandigarh, April 15 -- Wheat purchase in Punjab resumed on Tuesday after a brief halt by state procurement agencies' staff, who had suspended operations on Sunday alleging political pressure to buy the freshly harvested crop with high moisture content, ignoring prescribed quality standards.

Employees of Pungrain, Punsup, Markfed and the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) had stalled procurement, stating they are accountable for maintaining grain quality before handing it over to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which distributes foodgrains to consumer states.

Following discussions with the state food and civil supplies department, procurement staff returned to work with the understanding that only wheat meeting the prescri...