Currently, nearly 10 districts are recording less than 2,000 MT of wheat daily arrivals, showing that mandi activity has substantially slowed. Punjab’s wheat procurement season this year presents a contrasting picture — while total arrivals in mandis have declined compared to last year, government agencies have stepped in more aggressively, compensating for a sharp drop in private trade participation. A comparative analysis of official data from May 15, 2025, and May 6, 2026, highlights shifting procurement dynamics rather than any clear structural improvement. Though procurement operations are officially continuing till May 15, wheat arrivals in mandis have already slowed sharply. Daily arrivals, which had peaked at 10–11 lakh metric tonnes during the height of the season, have now dropped to nearly 56,000 metric tonnes, indicating that the season is nearing closure much earlier than last year.…