Amritsar: Farmers use a combine harvester in a wheat field in Amritsar, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (PTI Photo)Sixty-four kilos out of every quintal of wheat procured by the state agencies in Punjab is still lying in the grain markets posing threat of a glut like situation in the coming days if not moved immediately.
Till Monday (April 18), the Punjab government agencies had procured 54.75 lakh tonnes of wheat out of the total arrival of 60.54 lakh tonnes in the grain markets. Out of this, only 20.95 lakh tonnes has been transported out of mandis while the remaining 36.95 lakh tonnes of grain is lying in the mandis only.
“Soon several mandis in the state will face a glut like situation as there will be hardly any space left to keep the fresh grain arrival in the coming days,” said Darshan Lal, president of the Khanna Mandi Labour Union. He said in several mandis, 80 to 90 per cent of the procured wheat was yet to be moved out.
As per the data secured from grain markets, Pungrain has procured 16.59 lakh tonnes of wheat out of which 10.60 lakh tonnes is lying in grain markets. Food Corporation of India FCI has procured 2.92 lakh tonnes of which only 1.20 lakh tonnes has been transported out. Markfed has procured 14.24 lakh tonnes of wheat of which 9.93 lakh tonnes is still lying in mandis. The PUNSUP has purchased 12.83 lakh tonnes out of which 8.72 lakh tonnes is lying in the mandis, while Warehouse has purchased 8.15 lakh tonnes of which 5.43 lakh tonnes is still in the grain markets. Of the total non-transported wheat, around 21 per cent is lying in the grain markets of three districts of Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Sangrur.
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Meanwhile, private players are doing much better in moving out the purchased wheat. They had procured 3.16 lakh tonnes till Monday out of which 2.62 lakh tonnes have already been lifted and only 53,810 tonnes is lying in the grain markets.
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