No slowdown in procurement of paddy: Food minister
Union food and consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said the Union government was rapidly procuring paddy from farmers in Punjab,.
Union food and consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said the Union government was rapidly procuring paddy from farmers in Punjab, rejecting allegations from a section of cultivators and traders that the pace of purchases for federal stocks, a key source of farm income, had been slow.
The Food Corporation of India, the Centre’s main grain-handling arm, and its partner agencies in the state have procured 9.4 million tonne of paddy out of the 10 million tonne brought to markets by growers till November 4, the minister said. Procurement refers to the government’s purchases of foodgrains at federally fixed floor prices.
“The commitment of the central government is to achieve the targeted procurement estimate of 18.4 million tonne in Punjab and the government will procure every single grain brought to mandis (markets) by the farmers,” Joshi told reporters, launching fresh sales of subsidized wheat flour and rice marketed under the Bharat brand.
Bharat Atta (wheat) will be sold for ₹30 per kg while the price of Bharat Rice has been fixed at ₹34 per kg. “Direct interventions through retail sale of basic food items under the government’s Bharat Brand have helped in maintaining stable price regime,” the minister said.
A week ago, the minister said there was no slowdown in procurement but the operations were delayed due to torrential rains in Punjab, which contributes the most quantity of cereals to the government’s stockpile.
Farmers in Punjab had blockaded roads in parts of the state, alleging a slowdown in the Centre’s purchase of grains, citing overflowing granaries and shortage of storage space. The government denied there was any shortage of warehouses.