Paddy season off colour

Paddy procurement by government agencies has dropped five per cent,as compared to the last paddy season.

Looking at the figures,Mandi (market) Board chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal has asked officials to conduct an inquiry to find where paddy procured by private purchasers has been stocked so that they can establish the price at which they procured it from farmers and how it differs from the price at which they are putting it on sale.

Mandi Board records say though the government had set a minimum support price of Rs 1,345 per quintal,the actual price has fallen as low as Rs 1,285 per quintal. A few varieties got up to Rs 2,500 per quintal.

Purchases at low cost were made by private agencies alone,board sources say. They alleged that some agencies sought to cover up high sales,and cited the example of a sale of 135 bags being shown as 130 bags to remove all traces of purchases below the MSP.

Lakhowal says,“In the absence of any complaints from farmers,we are not able to act against any agency in particular. But we are investigating this racket at our own level because figures indicate that purchase by private agencies jumped 24 per cent,and our survey reveals that over 15 per cent paddy was sold below the MSP.”

As per the data till December 10,purchase by government agencies this year was 121.20 lakh tonnes against 127.39 lakh tonnes last year,a decrease of 5%. Farmers have already protested at various mandis over poor paddy procurement this season and over poor prices.

So far,150.15 lakh tonnes paddy has arrived in mandis,against 150.89 lakh metric tonne the previous year,which marks little change. Of the arrivals,150.78 lakh tonnes have been purchased,show records of the Mandi Board. Last year,the total paddy stock that arrived in mandis was 155 lakh tonnes.

There has been relief from the central government as far as discoloured paddy is concerned,but it apparently came too late. Last month,the Centre relaxed moisture content norms from 17 per cent to 21 per cent,and for discoloured paddy it relaxed the standard of 4 per cent damage to 12 per cent,with a cut of Rs 107 per quintal. The state rejected these norms as they were announced too late and over 85 per cent stock had already been sold in mandis.

Meanwhile,basmati showed encouraging signs with arrivals in mandis and prices both doubling since last year around this time.