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In Punjab, wheat arrivals see big surge; Sangrur shows the way
The grain markets have witnessed a total of 52.5 lakh tonnes of wheat arrival so far in Punjab, out of which Sangrur has received 6.4 lakh tonnes
: The Sangrur district is leading in overall wheat arrival and procurement in Punjab with a total of 6.4 lakh tonnes arriving in its mandis so far, as the state registered a record arrival of 8 lakh tonnes of the agricultural produce in a single day on Sunday this season.
A total of 52.5 lakh tonnes of wheat has arrived in mandis so far in the state, out of which 49.6 lakh tonnes has been purchased.
In the wheat arrival in the state, Sangrur received 6.4 lakh tonnes followed by Ferozpur (4.6 lakh tonnes), Patiala (4.5 lakh tonnes) and Ludhiana and Bathinda with 3.5 lakh tonnes each.
Out of the overall purchase, Sangrur is leading 6.25 lakh tonnes of wheat procurement followed by Ferozpur (4.5 lakh tonnes), Patiala (4.3 lakh tonnes), Ludhiana (3.4 lakh tonnes) and Moga (3.1 lakh tonnes).
Sunday saw a big surge in the arrival of wheat of in grain markets across the state with Ludhiana receiving 76,600 tonnes followed by Tarn Taran (56,000 tonnes), Sangrur (55,200 tonnes), Moga (54,800 tonnes), Muktsar (45,900 tonnes) and Bathinda (45,000 tonnes).
Private traders are emerging as one of the main players in wheat procurement in th state as 2.8 lakh tonnes of wheat has been bought by them out the total 52.5 lakh tonnes of wheat arrival this season so far. On Sunday, the private traders purchased 45,700 tonnes of wheat.
The rest has been purchased by the state’s four procurement agencies – Pungrain, Punsup, Markfed, and state warehousing corporation, and the Centre’s agency that drives public distribution in the country – food corporation of India (FCI).
“The percentage of the private purchase may have been only 5% of the total arrivals, we expected it to cross 10 lakh tonnes,” said an official in the state food and civil supplies department.
The official added that the amount of purchase by the traders may be more than what department figures shows.
“Because there are traders who have purchased out of the mandis also dealing directly with farmers. So, the exact figures will be known later when the season concludes,” the official said.
The state food and civil supplies department has set the target to procure 135 lakh tonnes of wheat. However, due to private purchase, total procurement is expected to be less than the target.
The private trade in the past years has been 1.17 lakh tonnes in 2021, 56,000 tonnes (2020); 1.59 lakh tonnes (2019), 58,000 lakh tonnes (2018), 2.62 lakh tonnes (2017), 1.79 lakh tonnes (2016), 1.63 lakh tonnes (2015) and 2.90 lakh tonnes (2014).
The procurement in the state started on April 1 and so far district Sangrur topped the chart in private procurement of more than 80,000 tonnes followed by Ludhiana (55,690 tonnes), Patiala (28,900 tonnes) and Faridkot (27,600 tonnes).
Due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, there is a worldwide increase in demand for wheat which has percolated to Punjab. As the two nations are engaged in bloody war, the countries dependent on them for grain supply are looking towards other countries and India is a big supplier.
India’s wheat-producing states – Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are the favourites among the traders for wheat for their vicinity to ports. Interestingly, as per details from MP, state agencies have only procured seven lakh tonnes of wheat and the rest have been bought by the traders for exporters and traders in the state.
A Sudden rise in climatic temperatures in the mid-March month when the crop was at the ripening stage led to early maturing and consequently fall in yield.
Report recommends relaxation in quality norms
The team of scientists that visited Punjab last week to analyse crop quality have submitted a report and recommended relaxation in the wheat quality norms. Punjab government approached the Centre ten days ago when due to early maturing, the crop saw a fall in the quality with shriveled and luster loss more than the permissible limits of 6% and 10% respectively.
As per reports by the scientists, Muktsar, Bathinda and Fazilka are the worst affected where the shriveled grain crossed 10% and lackluster is more than 15%. On the basis of recommendations by the scientists, the Centre food and public distribution ministry will allow relaxation. So far, the FCI has rejected the stocks having quality loss more than the norms.
