Mann writes to Centre, seeks urgent lifting of foodgrains

In a letter to Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Pralhad Joshi, the chief minister sought immediate movement of 6 lakh metric tonne (LMT)) rice by October 10 and 15 LMT wheat during October, pointing out that nearly 40 LMT wheat stocks are occupying space at rice mills and mandi yards, with around 17 LMT still lying there

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has urged the Centre to urgently clear foodgrain stocks from the state before the peak arrival of paddy, stressing that adequate storage space must be ensured to facilitate smooth procurement and prevent any difficulties for farmers in mandis.

Mann stressed that these stocks must be cleared to create adequate space for incoming paddy and ensure that farmers can bring their produce to mandis without facing storage-related hurdles. (HT)

In a letter to Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Pralhad Joshi, the chief minister sought immediate movement of 6 lakh metric tonne (LMT)) rice by October 10 and 15 LMT wheat during October, pointing out that nearly 40 LMT wheat stocks are occupying space at rice mills and mandi yards, with around 17 LMT still lying there. He stressed that these stocks must be cleared to create adequate space for incoming paddy and ensure that farmers can bring their produce to mandis without facing storage-related hurdles.

Mann reminded the central minister that Punjab had requested the movement of 15 LMT rice and 10-12 LMT wheat during September 2026 to complete the delivery of rice from KMS 2025-26 and clear wheat stocks lying in rice mills and mandi yards before the start of KMS 2026-27. However, only 8.3 LMT rice and 4.3 LMT wheat were moved out of the state from September 1 to September 29, 2026,” he wrote on Tuesday.

He said that due to persistent shortage of storage space with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), only 99.50 LMTs (94%) custom milled rice of kharif marketing season (KMS) 2025-26 could be delivered till September 29 against the due quantity of 105.64 LMT and nearly 6 LMTs is still balance to be delivered.

Mann further stated that with the next kharif marketing season commencing from October 1, 2026, and peak arrivals expected around October 10, delivery of all pending rice to the FCI by then is of paramount importance so as to avoid carry over of balance paddy stocks in the next kharif season and also to prevent complications in stock accounting and recycling of paddy/rice.

“Delay in milling is already causing unrest amongst the millers and if the delivery of rice goes beyond mid-October, the rice millers may not come forward for storage and milling of paddy and such a scenario may result in unrest amongst other stakeholders also, especially farmers,” he added.

The CM also highlighted the severe shortage of wheat storage space, saying that due to shortage of space for storage of wheat in the state, nearly 40 LMT wheat stocks procured during RMS 2026-27 were stored at rice mills and mandi yards with the premise that these stocks would be moved by September/October mid-2026. However, due to much slow pace of liquidation of wheat from the state from June to September 2026, nearly 17 LMT wheat of RMS 2026-27 is still lying in rice mills and mandi yards as on date,” he said

He cautioned that if these wheat stocks were not moved, as a natural consequence, it would prevent farmers from unloading their produce in mandis while there would not be enough space in the rice mills for storage of paddy, which would disrupt smooth procurement operations. “Such a scenario may lead to a law and order situation in the state at the time of peak arrivals of paddy during KMS 2026-27,” he said, pointing out that Punjab had repeatedly requested the Centre for adequate monthly movement of foodgrains.