It is being hoped that 187 lakh metric tons of paddy can be procured this year by the state government, which will begin buying paddy on Saturday. The government is hopeful for a bumper crop despite the recent spell of inclement weather and southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus attack.
Despite the unseasonal rains and the virus, the Food Corporation of India and state government have reported that crop yields were only lost by about 1 percent, so the harvest looks promising. Reports by the Agriculture Department show that 1.39 lakh hectares of paddy have been affected by rains. There will be 187-191 lakh metric tons (LMT) of paddy available for procurement this year, of which 200 lakh metric tons (LMT) are expected.
Rs 36,999 crore of the cash credit limit (CCL) has already been received by the state, and the remaining amount (Rs 7,500 crore) will be released in November. A smooth procurement of paddy has been arranged. The Tribune reports that all arrangements have been made to cope with inclement weather during the course of procurement, since paddy will be lifted from mandis quickly,” said Rahul Bhandari, Principal Secretary, Food and Supplies.
Most shellers have already been allocated mandis from which paddy will be sent to their premises for storage and shelling.
Although the Center has urged the private sector to enter mandis for procurement this year, sources say private players are unlikely to come to Punjab since paddy is readily available in different parts of the country and often at low rates below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,040 per quintal.
Harbans Rosha, a commission agent in Khanna, says that if traders are able to get cheaper paddy from other states, they will buy from those closer to their recipients.
Some mandis like Khanna, Rajpura, and Sangrur have already begun receiving paddy even before the paddy season has started. The high moisture content caused by rains will reduce around Wednesday, when farmers and commission agents expect higher paddy arrivals.
The FCI is also working overtime to make sure there is ample space for this year’s paddy by moving the previous years’ rice to other states just before the paddy season begins.
Hemant Kumar Jain, the regional general manager of the FCI, Punjab, told that the central agency has 127 lakh metric tonnes of covered space at its disposal. According to him, we have enough space to store the paddy purchased this year, and currently hold 58.29 lakh metric tonnes of rice and 16.95 lakh metric tonnes of wheat.