With the Punjab government set to open 1,832 mandis for paddy procurement on October 1, the kharif season faces an immediate challenge. A massive backlog of 280 lakh tonnes of food grains is currently clogging state godowns, rice mills, and mandi yards, raising concerns about the smooth purchase and lifting of the new crop.
Storage shortages during last year’s kharif procurement delayed crop lifting, and state food department officials say that the upcoming season will be even more challenging.
Driven by a bumper paddy crop, the Centre’s ministry of food and public distribution has set a target for the procurement of 180 lakh tonnes from the state this season. With paddy cultivated across 32.7 lakh hectares, the state agriculture department expects the total yield to surpass 210 lakh tonnes.
“We are set to purchase paddy from the farmers from October 1, as all arrangements are in place,” said food and civil supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak.
The central government has set the minimum support price for paddy at ₹2,461 per quintal for the current season.
He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sanctioned ₹50,337.68 crore for crop procurement out of which ₹42,786.68 crore has already been credited to state accounts for October purchases, while the remaining ₹7,550 crore is scheduled for release in November. Additionally, more than 5 lakh gunny bags have been arranged to pack the crop.
{{/usCountry}}He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sanctioned ₹50,337.68 crore for crop procurement out of which ₹42,786.68 crore has already been credited to state accounts for October purchases, while the remaining ₹7,550 crore is scheduled for release in November. Additionally, more than 5 lakh gunny bags have been arranged to pack the crop.
{{/usCountry}}State granaries full to the brim
The state godowns store 155 lakh tonnes of rice from the past three seasons. Additionally, another 10 lakh tonnes of paddy from the last season are waiting to be milled, which will contribute an estimated 6 lakh tonnes of rice to the existing stockpile.
The godowns currently hold 116 lakh tonnes of wheat. Punjab is presently holding at least 275 lakh tonnes of foodgrains against a total warehouse capacity of just 180 lakh tonnes. This severe shortage has forced agencies to utilise rice mills and mandi yards for storage.
Speaking on the storage of the crop, a senior official in the state food and civil supplies department said the entire crop will be handed over to rice mills to be shelled. “There are 5,500 mills in the state and they are allocated paddy according to their milling capacity,” he added.
There are 1,500 rice mills in the state which store rice and wheat of the previous seasons and the stocks are waiting to be lifted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for being transported to the consuming states.
“Our department and chief minister Bhagwant Mann had raised the issue of evacuating grain stocks with the Centre,” said the minister, adding that the department is making use of the state’s existing infrastructure.