Punjab’s Malwa region witnesses lean buying
Wheat procurement in southwest Punjab has been slow due to unseasonal rain that flattened plants and left foodgrain stocks below procurement specifications. Purchase activity is expected to pick up after revised norms are announced. So far, only 4,230 tonnes of wheat have reached the mandis, with Bathinda expecting the arrival of 9.50 lakh tonnes. Purchase centres in around 30 market committees did not witness procurement of wheat, and no grain was purchased on Tuesday. The slow harvesting has been attributed to the lean procurement activity in the region.
Most of the market committees in southwest Punjab districts did not record wheat purchase on Tuesday.
Officials say lean procurement activity in the region was reported after foodgrain stocks hitting the mandis were found below the procurement specifications as the standing crop in several parts of the region was hit by unseasonal rain that led to flattening of plants. They hope that after the revised norms are announced today, purchase may pick up from Wednesday.
Officials attribute lean procurement activity to slow harvesting in the region.
The seven districts of the semi-arid region have 45 market committees having a series of purchase points, with a maximum of 10 such committees in Bathinda.
As per information gathered from the region, purchase centres in about 30 market committees did not witness procurement of wheat.
Bathinda is expecting the arrival of 9.50 lakh tonnes of wheat, maximum in the south Malwa belt, whereas so far, only 4,230-tonne wheat has reached the mandis. On Tuesday, 2,311-tonne wheat arrived in various centres of the district, but no grain was purchased.
Bathinda deputy commissioner (DC) Showkat Ahmad Parray said most of the grains were not meeting the specifications and it was decided to put the purchase on hold till revised norms were issued.
“It was done in the interest of farmers as grains were found shrivelled, with lesser lustre and higher moisture content. As notifications of a new set of rules were received today, we are hopeful that the pace of procurement will pick up from Wednesday,” said the DC.
After today’s arrival of 8,700 tonnes, Mansa district’s share in total arrival to date is about 17,000 tonnes, the highest in the region.
Mansa mandi officer Salod Bishnoi said about 220-tonne wheat has been procured till Tuesday.
Muktsar has set a target to procure 9.18 lakh tonne from the jurisdiction of four market committees.
No purchase was reported in any of the four market committees in the district today.
Similarly, Moga and Faridkot also did not report any wheat procurement on Tuesday, whereas arrival in the two districts is also going at slow pace.
Ferozepur district food and civil supplies controller (DFSC) Himanshu Kukkar said hardly any purchase took place as there has been a delay in wheat harvesting.
“The weather is conducive and it is expected that reaping activity will increase in the next few days. The district is geared up for smooth procurement of an estimated 8-lakh tonne,” said Kukkar.
On Tuesday, Balluana legislator in Fazilka district Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir inaugurated procurement season in Abohar grain market. On the first day of the season’s purchase, a token amount of 12 tonne was purchased whereas the district has so far received more than 2,200-tonne wheat from four market committee areas.
Consider crop loss as national disaster: Rajewal
While addressing farmers at a rally organised near Amb Sahib Gurdwara here, Rajewal alleged that the government was gimmicking in the name of girdawari.
Rajewal said the state government has made a backdoor pact with the Adani Group to run 26 more silos across the state and announce these as mandies under the pressure of the Centre.
He also condemned the farmer union workers, including his own, for thin attendance at the rally.
Total state arrivals 1.61-L tonne so far
The arrival of freshly-harvested wheat in Punjab continued to remain slow. On Tuesday, 80,000-tonne grain arrived in the state mandis, which took the total arrivals to 1.61 lakh tonne
The arrivals in the current season are way behind the last year’s corresponding arrivals of 10.23-lakh tonne wheat. This season, rain, hailstorm and winds during the maturing stage damaged the crop and also delayed harvesting
According to officials in the state food and civil supplies department, the arrivals would pick up by the end of this week as harvest has started in full swing across the state
