25% rice yet to be milled in Punjab; frustrated millers say repeat of last year, ask govt to create space in godowns
Nearly 25% of Punjab’s rice remains unmilled past the March 31 deadline, with 29.3 LMT still pending. Millers blame storage shortages, transport delays, and monsoon-related spoilage risks. With 140 LMT rice and 100 LMT wheat already in storage, millers urge faster transportation to other states. The government aims to finish milling by July-end amid rising logistical pressure.
Nearly 25 per cent of rice in Punjab remains unmilled two months after the milling deadline, leading to concerns from millers about logistical challenges and rising costs. As of June 2, only around 75 per cent of the expected rice from the current kharif marketing season 2024-25 has been delivered to government agencies. With 171.84 lakh tonnes of paddy stored, millers face pressure to expedite milling to avoid quality deterioration before the monsoon.
Punjab government agencies have stored 171.84 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy in around 5,000 rice mills, which are to deliver 116.29 LMT of rice after milling to the government. To date, mills have delivered over 87 LMT of rice to government agencies.
Punjab’s stores currently hold 140 LMT of rice, which implies that 53 LMT of last year’s rice remains in storage Punjab has limited storage capacity and the new Rabi marketing season’s wheat procurement has also just concluded with the government procurement. This means that around 100 LMT of the freshly arrived 119 LMT wheat needs space.
Last year, millers were up in arms as the government delayed the milling process until the end of September, while the new paddy procurement season begins on October 1. That time, procurement of paddy was also delayed for weeks because millers refused to store the government’s rice in their mills, demanding that the milling deadline be set to March 31, along with some other demands.
Despite repeated reminders and the earlier suggested deadline of March 31 for milling completion, a significant portion of paddy remains unprocessed in rice mills across several districts. There is a lack of uniformity in milling; some districts have reached up to 97 per cent completion, while others have up to 44 per cent of milling pending.
Out of 44.2 LMT of paddy stored by Markfed, only 22.26 LMT of rice has been delivered, leaving nearly 7 LMT still pending. In agencies like Pungrain, PSWC, and PUNSUP, over 12 lakh tonnes, 3.30 lakh tonnes, and over 6 lakh tonnes of rice, respectively, are pending.
Millers are frustrated with delays, logistical bottlenecks, rising storage costs, and the risk of paddy shrinkage due to hot weather conditions and spoilage ahead of the monsoon.
“The milling should have been wrapped up by March 31. Extending the season puts pressure on our infrastructure and affects planning for the next crop cycle,” said a leading rice miller from Sangrur, the district with 26.61 per cent pending rice delivery.
Sangrur district has 15.69 LMT of paddy stored, of which only about 7.8 LMT of rice has been delivered so far, against a target of 10.61 LMT.
Other districts with high volumes of balance rice in the mills include Moga: 15.3 LMT paddy stored; only 5.8 LMT rice delivered (56.06 per cent), Ludhiana West: 9.81 LMT paddy stored; 3.91 LMT rice delivered (58.98 per cent), Ludhiana East: 61.48 per cent milling completed and Barnala: 65.18 per cent rice delivered.
In contrast, districts like Fazilka, Pathankot, and Hoshiarpur have performed better, with more than 95 per cent of milling completed. In Amritsar and Tarn Taran, 92 per cent and 90 per cent of the rice, respectively, has been delivered by mills.
The Department of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs, along with procurement agencies such as Punjab State Grains Procurement Corporation (PUNGRAIN), Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (PUNSUP), and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC), are now under pressure to expedite the process. Combined figures from all agencies show that out of 171.8 LMT paddy procured, only about 87 LMT of rice has been delivered so far, leaving a shortfall of nearly 29.3 LMT across the state.
Transport backlog is further compounding the delays. Out of the over 4 lakh wagons required to move rice, over 1 lakh wagons are still pending. Districts like Moga account for a significant portion of this backlog, with 15,708 pending wagons.
Millers point to risks posed by wet weather
Millers warn that the impending monsoon could compromise paddy quality if not milled on time. “Moisture and fungus risk increase drastically. If the milling is not expedited, this could lead to both economic and food safety issues,” said another miller from Moga.
While government officials acknowledge the delay, they cite lack of space in government godowns because the RMS also concluded reacently and the government procured 119 LMT out of which 18-19 LMT was transported to other states and around 100 LMT is lying in the state, including 60 LMT in cover and plinth due to lack of space in the covered godowns.
With only four months left before the next procurement cycle, millers urge the state to take immediate corrective steps or risk rolling over the backlog into the next season, putting even greater strain on Punjab’s already burdened food grain infrastructure.
Prem Goel, president of the Punjab Rice Millers Association, said, “Last year, too, we took up the matter with the government to complete custom rice milling by the end of March. Even after two more months beyond March 31, the government has yet to take delivery of 25 per cent of the rice. The delay is due to the lack of space in government stores to keep the milled rice, forcing mills to store government paddy at their own cost. If any shrinkage or discolouration in the grain takes place, the financial burden also falls on us.”
He added that there are districts with high pending custom-milled rice (CMR), while in districts with 97 per cent delivery, operations are smooth. “Even the Moga administration last month wrote to the general manager, FCI Punjab, requesting augmentation of storage space for rice mills in Moga to ensure smooth milling and delivery.”
Punjab’s storage capacity is under stress as the state has a total foodgrain storage capacity of 220 LMT, including 174 LMT covered storage — 167 LMT in government godowns and the rest in private silos. Punjab’s total food procurement exceeds 300 LMT, comprising 170–180 LMT of paddy, which yields 116–120 LMT of rice and 120–132 LMT of wheat.
To manage this, the state must immediately transport the grain to needy states or risk overflowing godowns, thereby expediting the pending rice milling. Officials said they are trying to complete the milling by the end of July.
B Srinivasan, general manager of FCI Punjab, said, “At the moment, Punjab has a total foodgrain storage capacity of 220 LMT, while the total rice stock position as of June 2 stands at 140 LMT in the state and Wheat is around 100 LMT but regular transportation of the grain from Punjab to other states is taking place.”
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Source : The Indian Express
