NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: India has been planning to relax norms to procure wheat from farmers amid untimely rainfall and hail which damaged the crop just before harvesting in key producing central and northern states, government officials and traders told Reuters.

The world’s second biggest wheat producer plans to buy 34.15 million tonnes of new-season wheat from local farmers to shore up state reserves after purchases dropped 53% last year to 18.8 million tonnes because of a poor harvest. New season wheat has started arriving on the market, but the harvest has lost lustre in some districts because of the recent rainfall, said a senior government official, who declined to be named.

“We have allowed Madhya Pradesh state to procure wheat even with 10% loss in lustre.