Wheat procurement surges after norm relaxation, but 88% stock stuck in mandis

Officials said that while procurement agencies have accelerated buying following revised norms by the Food Corporation of India, the slow movement of stocks from mandis is creating a bottleneck. The delay in lifting is already leading to congestion, and with Punjab expecting around 122 lakh tonnes of total arrivals this season, the situation may worsen in the coming days. Official said that they are expecting that 90% of the total expected procurement will reach mandis in the coming week. But slow lifting would leave no space to keep fresh arrival in mandis.

The state has planned around 860 trains to transport food-grains directly from mandis to the consumer states, but these are expected to move only over 20 lakh tonnes, far below the projected procurement. Compounding the issue, storage facilities in Punjab are already burdened with previous stock of wheat and rice, leaving limited room for fresh arrivals.

Officials warn that unless lifting and transportation are expedited, farmers bringing their produce to mandis may face severe difficulties due to space shortages.

“The current scenario highlights a critical gap: while policy relaxation has boosted procurement, the failure to match it with adequate lifting infrastructure risks turning mandis into choke points at the peak of the harvest season,” said a senior officer of the procurement agency.

Prem Goel, president of Punjab Arhtiya Association, said that the state’s godowns are already full with previous years’ stocks of wheat and rice, and the slow movement of grain is creating a serious space crunch for the fresh crop.

Ravinder Singh Cheema, president of another Arhtiya association, said that until the procured crop is transported from mandis to government storage facilities, the responsibility remains with the arhtiyas who facilitate procurement, which is unfair. “We demand that the procured crop should be lifted from the mandis as soon as possible to accommodate fresh arrivals and reduce the burden,” he said.

Meanwhile, payments to farmers have been progressing steadily. About Rs 1,818.31 crore has been disbursed so far, while payments worth Rs 3,772.04 crore have been approved, most of which are being cleared within 48 hours of procurement.