Wheat arrival picks up in Punjab mandis, 13% bought by traders above MSP

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, April 14

Rain in scattered parts of Punjab since last night notwithstanding, wheat has begun to arrive in 19 districts. Barring Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, wheat has started trickling in the mandis of all other districts, with highest arrivals being recorded in Patiala and Mansa districts.

Information available with The Tribune shows that 84,484 tonnes of wheat has arrived in the mandis, with 42,967 tonnes being purchased by government agencies and 10,969 tonnes by private traders. This means that so far, 12.9 per cent of the wheat arrivals has been purchased by private traders, at around Rs 2,330 per quintal, against an MSP of Rs 2,275 per quintal.

As much as 25,743 tonnes have arrived in mandis of Patiala, followed by 18,201 tonnes in Mansa and 9,207 tonnes in Mohali. The purchase has also been highest in Patiala (19,201 tonnes), Mansa (11,703 tonnes) and Mohali (9,161 tonnes). There has been no purchase in four districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Amritsar (where there have been no arrivals) and in Tarn Taran (where wheat has started trickling in the mandis).

Officials expect the arrivals to start peaking only around the end of this week, which is very late as compared to last year. Till date, last year, 10.84 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had arrived in mandis and 8.21 lmt had been purchased.

However, with the country’s wheat reserves estimated at 75.02 lakh tonnes as on April 1, the government agencies are expected to step up their procurement in the coming days, even as the private traders too are expected to buy higher quantity of wheat this year.

“Since the government wants to fill its granaries and ensure it has comfortable stocks, we fear that restrictions on stock limits can be imposed on us, as has been done unofficially in some states. That is why flour millers are still wary of buying and stocking more grains,” said a prominent flour mill owner. He added that since many farmers expect that the wheat prices will go up after procurement ends, the big farmers will also hold back stocks, to sell at higher prices later.

Officials in the Food Department say that because of the low stocks with the Government of India, this year, there is a lot of pressure on buying each and every grain that comes to the mandis. The yield of wheat is also expected to be higher this year, taking the wheat production to over 160 lakh metric tonnes.

Arrival and Procurement

• Sunday’s arrival 31,577 MT
• Progressive arrival 84,484 MT
• Sunday’s purchase 20,154 MT
• Progressive purchase 53,937 MT
• Purchase by govt agencies 42,967 MT
• Private purchase 10,969 MT
• Unsold 30,548 MT

Millers wary of stocking grain

Since the government wants to fill its granaries and ensure it has comfortable stocks, we fear that restrictions on stock limits can be imposed on us, as has been done unofficially in some states. That is why flour millers are still wary of buying and stocking more grains. — A flour mill owner