The food and civil supplies department, Punjab, on Wednesday reached half-way of the procurement target of 135 lakh tonnes fixed at the onset of wheat procurement on April 1.
“It is an accomplishment that Punjab’s four procurement agencies and Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) have successfully accomplished 50% of the total target within 20 days after the start of the wheat procurement,” said a state government spokesperson.
The government agencies have procured 67.50 LMT so far, of which 65.40 LMT had been procured during the ongoing rabi marketing season (RMS). “Nearly 27% more wheat arrived in mandis this year as compared to the corresponding period last year when 53.35 lakh tonnes of wheat had arrived correspondingly in the previous rabi season,” the spokesperson added.
As much as 61.95 lakh tonnes of wheat were purchased by government agencies while the remaining 3.45 lakh tonnes were purchased by private agencies.
Sangrur leads in wheat arrivals
Sangrur district leads the state with the arrival of 7.27 lakh tonnes of wheat, of which 7.18 lakh tonnes had been procured till April 19. After Sangrur, Ferozepur and Patiala fall in the second and third place with the arrival of 5.40 lakh tonnes and 5.31 lakh tonnes.
Wheat this season was sown over 35.02 lakh hectares in the state and the target for production, as per estimates, was 175 lakh tonnes out of which 135 lakh tonnes are expected to arrive in mandis and procurement centres.
Traders purchasing from farmers warned
The state government has warned traders, firms and individuals procuring wheat directly from farmers without paying market fee and rural development fund (RDF) to stop this practice or be ready to pay heavy penalty. “If any such case found during the checking, the defaulter will have to pay a penalty amounting 10 times of market fee in addition to the actual market fee and the RDF,” said the spokesperson. Mandi board charge 3% RDF over the sale value of the produce. Reportedly, a large quantity of wheat is sold by bypassing the state’s mandi system.
