Chandigarh, May 2 (IANS): Wheat procurement in Punjab and Haryana is nearing the 150 lakh tonne-mark, officials said Monday.

The two states have procured nearly 149 lakh tonnes of wheat till Sunday evening. While Punjab accounted for over 91.02 lakh tonnes, Haryana procured another 57.27 lakh tonnes.

In Punjab, the initial delay in arrival of wheat, due to erratic weather that delayed the ripening of the crop, has been almost covered up in the last one week.

In Punjab, over 99 percent of the wheat has been procured by the six government agencies - five of the state government, and the central government's Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Ferozepur, Sangrur and Patiala districts in Punjab were leading in wheat procurement. The state government has set up 1,734 procurement centres across the state.

In Haryana, Sirsa, Jind and Fatehabad districts led in wheat procurement.

Punjab and Haryana contribute over 70 percent of the total food grain to the national kitty.