Punjab: 102 lakh tonne reaches mandis, nearly 60% awaits lifting
A sudden spurt in arrivals due to later harvesting has left authorities struggling to evacuate nearly 60 lakh tonnes of produce; the state government has arranged to store about 30 lakh tonnes of freshly procured grain on the premises of rice mills
Wheat arrivals in Punjab on Sunday crossed 102.44 lakh tonnes with The government procuring nearly 95% of the crop.
According to the data accessed by HT, the sudden spurt in the arrivals has led to a glut-like situation in mandis with more than 60 lakh tonnes of freshly harvested produce yet to be lifted from the procurement centres to the storage points. Nearly 2,100 mandis and procurement centres have been set up for grain procurement.
Piles of wheat produce in open and gunny bags filled with grain placed on nearby roads and open areas have become a common scene in the state these days.
Top officials in the state food and civil supplies department and Punjab state agricultural marketing board (mandi board) attribute the glut to delayed harvesting due to low temperatures at the time of grain maturing. The state government opened mandis for the procurement of rabi crop on April 1, but the arrivals picked up pace in the second week of the month.
In comparison to the previous years, this year’s arrivals are faster. Correspondingly in 2024, 80 lakh tonnes of grain had reached the state mandis for procurement. In the previous season, a total of 132 lakh tonnes of wheat was procured.
In district Patiala, 8.7 lakh tonne has arrived and 6.9 lakh tonne (80%) is waiting to be lifted; in Ferozepur arrivals have touched 7 lakh tonne and 5 lakh tonne (70%) tonnes are still in the mandis, Tarn Taran district has so far witnessed 5.9 lakh tonne of arrival and 4 lakh tonne (68%) is awaiting evacuation from mandis.
In district Fazilka 5.7 lakh tonne has arrived and 4 lakh tonne (70%) is waiting to be lifted, and in Bathinda, so far 5.8 lakh tonne of grain has reached mandis and 2.9 lakh (50%) tonne is still to be moved to the storage points.
Officials said that slow lifting is due to a lack of space in the state godowns as nearly 2 lakh tonnes of rice from the previous season has not been shifted to the consumer states.
The state government has arranged to store about 30 lakh tonnes of freshly procured grain on the premises of rice mills.
“A glut-like situation has emerged because arrival is more than lifting. It touched peak last week when on a single day 11 lakh tonne arrived whereas lifting cannot be more than 5-6 lakh tonne daily,” said an officer of state food and civil supplies department, pleading anonymity.
“We hope to ease lifting scenario in a week to 10 days, the official added.
As per the target set by the Food Corporation of India, the state government has been asked to procure 124 lakh tonnes of wheat. The state is expecting a bumper crop this season and has made arrangements for 132 lakh tonnes with a cash credit limit of ₹28,894 crore to pay a minimum support price of ₹2,425 per quintal to the farmers. So far ₹16,952 crore has been paid to the farmers.
