Wheat lifting picks up but still under last-year mark

After a slow pace of procurement by the government agencies, wheat lifting has picked up again in the district to take the figure to 35.81-lakh quintal of the arrived 36.29-lakh quintal.

After a slow pace of procurement by the government agencies, wheat lifting has picked up again in the district to take the figure to 35.81-lakh quintal of the arrived 36.29-lakh quintal.

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This figure is still much lower than the last-year mark of 44.32-lakh quintal of the arrived 44.37-lakh quintal for the corresponding period. The wheat procurement season star ted on April 1 officially.

Pungrain, Punsup, Markfed, Punjab State Warehouse Corporation (PSWC) and some private companies were engaged for the process.

“Hundreds of wheat bags stored at the grain markets are not being lifted because of a shortage of labourers and transport facility,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. The moisture content in the crop has gone up to 22% from the normal 13%, so farmers need more time for harvesting to get better price for their wheat.

The overall purchase might be affected if procurement and lifting are not faster. Experts say that in most part of the state, wheat has not even matured. “The crop in Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, and Jalandhar districts is still green, which means it is not ready for harvesting,” said a wheat expert.

District mandi officer, Harinder Singh Randhawa said the low arrival was because the crop had not ripened owing to bad weather last month. “It will still take at least seven days more for heavy arrival in grain markets to begin,” he said.