Chandigarh, July 22 -- The Punjab government on Tuesday said it will urge the Centre to increase the monthly lifting of wheat and paddy to at least 12 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) to create adequate storage space ahead of the upcoming procurement seasons.

The issue was discussed during a meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) comprising agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, food and civil supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak and water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, who reviewed arrangements for the 2026-27 paddy procurement and 2027-28 wheat procurement season.

The GoM was apprised that in the present year, the movement of foodgrain from the state stands at 75.67 LMT from January to July. Out of this, 37.13 LMT is wheat ...