New Delhi, April 11 -- Wheat procurement in northwest India has started on a sluggish note, with unseasonal rains delaying harvest activity, three people aware of the development said. Key contributing states to the central food storage pool, including Punjab, Haryana, parts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, recorded intermittent rains during the first week of April, disrupting harvest operations. Some early industry projections also see some crop damage due to these rains.

This month, several parts of northern India, including the key wheat-growing regions, received unseasonal rains and even some hailstorm, which was attributed to weather disturbances by experts.

Farmers have been forced to pause harvesting and the moisture content in th...