Paddy glut in grain markets in Ludhiana, 7K MT of stock arrives, 3% procured
A ‘glut-like’ situation is prevailing in almost all 146 grain markets (mandis), including 38 temporary yards, across 13 market committees of Ludhiana district as the paddy procurement is yet to pick up here.
Even as the deadlock between private agencies and the state government ended three days ago, farmers were still waiting for their produce to be purchased.
However, the district administration has claimed smooth paddy procurement with no hardship to the farmers in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population.
Of the total over 6,724 metric tonnes (MT) of paddy arriving across the district till Tuesday evening, only 222.5 MT of stock has been procured, which accounts for mere 3.31 per cent of the total arrivals. Of the total procurement, no grain had been lifted from the mandis.
Surprisingly, no purchase has been reported from any mandi across 10 market committees with the entire procurement so far done from only the Khanna, Jagraon and Mulanpur Dakha areas.
Every grain to be procured
By ensuring smooth and hassle-free procurement, lifting and payment to farmers within the stipulated time frame, we are committed to purchasing every single grain of paddy arriving at mandis. The entire district administration is on the job to facilitate the peasants during the ongoing procurement process. — Jitendra Jorwal, DC
It was despite the fact that the harvesting of the paddy crop had been delayed due to the spoilsport played by the recent heavy rainfall and thundershowers resulting in lodging of certain areas under the rice crop. Though the area under paddy cultivation had increased from 2.51 lakh hectares in 2023 to 2.57 lakh hectares this season, it was less than 2.59 lakh hectares in 2022.
Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal, who is monitoring the paddy purchase in the district on a daily basis, told The Tribune that the procurement of rice had begun in a smooth and hassle-free manner in Ludhiana.
He said all arrangements were in place to facilitate farmers, arriving with their paddy crop at all mandis by ensuring swift procurement, lifting and payment of their food grain.
While government agencies lead the charge by procuring 222.5 MT of paddy, which was the total purchase till last evening, private agencies had not yet bought a single grain.
With 2,149 MT more paddy arriving at the district’s mandis on Tuesday, 202.5 MT of stock was procured yesterday, leaving 6,501.5 MT grains unsold so far.
Besides the arrival of 6,724 MT of parmal rice, of which 222.5 MT had been purchased by the government agencies at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,320, as many as 23,434 MT of basmati rice had also arrived and purchased by private agencies at the maximum price of Rs 3,125 per quintal and minimum of Rs 2,200 per quintal till Tuesday.
With 1,620 MT of basmati rice arriving and the entire stock getting purchased on Tuesday, the basmati arrival and procurement this year so far was 26.6 per cent more than 18,510 MT of basmati rice that had arrived and was procured in Ludhiana during the corresponding period last year.
Divulging the procurement figures, officials disclosed that Samrala was at the top with the arrival of a maximum 1,440 MT of paddy while Khanna, which was Asia’s biggest grain market, was at the second spot with the arrival of 1,360 MT of stock so far.
The mandi-wise data showed that the maximum of 1,440 MT of paddy had arrived of which no purchase had been made in Samrala, followed by 1,360 MT arrival and 210 MT procurement in Khanna, 1,040 MT arrival and no purchase in Ludhiana, 890 MT arrival and no procurement in Machhiwara, 580 MT arrival and no purchase in Raikot, 462 MT arrival and no procurement in Sahnewal, 306 MT arrival and 5 MT purchase in Mullanpur Dakha, 286 MT arrival and no procurement in Maloud, 110 MT arrival and no procurement in Hathur, 94 MT arrival and no purchase in Kila Raipur, 80 MT arrival and 7.5 MT procurement in Jagraon, 75 MT arrival and no purchase in Sidhwan Bet, while no arrival had been logged in Doraha till yesterday.
Ruling out any damage caused by the recent weather vagaries to the paddy crop in the district, Agriculture Department officials said the harvesting of 1509 hybrid and PR 126 early varieties of paddy crop has begun only in the Machhiwara, Samrala and Khanna blocks with an average of 2 to 3 per cent of the total 2.57-lakh hectares done so far.
He said the harvesting would pick up pace from October 10 onwards with 18.36 LMT produce expected to arrive in the district this Kharif marketing season.
No pvt purchase
None of the total 108 mandis and 38 temporary yards in the district have yet witnessed any private paddy purchase even nine days after the official start of the procurement season. Moreover, no purchase was made in 10 of the total 13 market committees with the government agencies procuring the entire 3.3 per cent of the total arrived crop and the private agencies not yet buying a single grain so far.
“By ensuring smooth and hassle-free procurement, lifting and payment to farmers within the stipulated time frame, we are committed to purchasing every single grain of paddy arriving at mandis. The entire district administration is on the job to facilitate the peasants during the ongoing procurement process,” said Jitendra Jorwal, DC.
