Punjab's paddy procurement likely to be less than the target
25-Oct-2024 04:49 PM
Ludhiana. Although the Union Food Minister has assured that the procurement of rice in Punjab will be in accordance with the target, but it may take a long time to send the stock present in the state's warehouses to other states and hence the current year's procurement may be affected.
Analysts say that if the Punjab government has to remove the dissatisfaction of the farmers, then it will have to abolish the Mandi fee and cut the commission of the commission agents.
This is a very difficult task but these measures can give a good incentive to private traders to increase the purchase of paddy from farmers at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
According to highly placed sources, the central government has set a target of removing the stock of 13-15 lakh tonnes of food grains (wheat, rice, paddy) per month from the warehouses of Punjab and by March 31, 2025, 80-90 lakh tonnes of grain can be sent to other provinces from the state.
The government has set a target of procuring 124 lakh tonnes of rice during the current Kharif marketing season.
The government procurement of paddy will start from October 1 and will continue till November 30. So far, paddy equivalent to 20.60 lakh tonnes of rice has been procured there, which is 36 percent less than the procurement of about 32 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
According to a preliminary analysis, the real problem with Punjab is that the level of market fee and commission is very high there, due to which private traders shy away from purchasing paddy there.
Although the central government is insisting that less amount should be paid than the maximum limit set by it for market fee and commission, but still the rates applicable in Punjab are considered to be very high for the traders.
A former president of All India Rice Exporters Association (AREA) says that there should be a level playing field for traders in Punjab as well as other states and the level of market fee and commission should not be too high. The government should also focus on understanding and solving the problems of rice millers.