Ease norms or won’t sign contracts: Punjab rice millers to Pungrain
Rice millers in Punjab are hesitant to sign agreements with the state’s agency Pungrain due to concerns about new paddy varieties producing only 62% rice, below the government’s 67% norm. Millers are also dealing with a backlog of last season’s paddy, affecting storage and quality. The state lacks storage space and depends on millers’ facilities, leading to apprehension about the upcoming harvest. The government has been urged to address these issues and expedite the movement of foodgrains to resolve the storage crisis.
The majority of shelling mills in Punjab have shown an unwillingness to sign agreements with the state’s agency Pungrain for the milling of paddy in the forthcoming harvest season beginning in October this year. The last date for signing agreements is August 15.
the reason being that the previous season’s paddy is still waiting to be shelled and millers are apprehensive that when milled might not give an adequate percentage of 67% rice as mandated by the government norms. The previous season has left them with no space to store the paddy which will be procured during the upcoming harvest season.
As per the data available, the state also has no space of its own to store rice and will depend on the storage space available with the rice mills. The government prefers to keep paddy stored with the millers and allows them to shell paddy when space in government godowns falls vacant.
The millers said that in the prevailing conditions, they would not store the upcoming produce.
A rice shelling unit owner, pleading anonymity said, additionally in the wake of new paddy varieties cultivated by the farmers, the millers’ worry is that the rice outcome is less than 67%. “We will have to bear losses in case there is no change in the government policy. The new paddy varieties, especially PR 125, sown by the farmers this season give 62% of rice after shelling,” the rice mill owner added.
Rice millers’ association president Tarsem Saini said the millers are storing stocks of the previous season to the tune of 7 lakh tonnes and the food and civil supplies department is not permitting us to shell the old stocks.
“Ideally paddy harvested in October-November months should be shelled within four to five months before March 31 for best rice recovery,” Saini said, adding, that with the passage of time quality of paddy is deteriorating.
“It is getting discoloured and broken rice kernels would also be more than the prescribed government norms,” Saini added.
Saini added that the state government has not announced a milling policy for the upcoming season, nor has involved millers in discussions. “We have conveyed our displeasure and difficulties to the state government and their response is awaited,” Saini said.
As per the state’s estimates, at least 185 lakh tonnes of foodgrains from the previous season are still stored in the state godowns, which includes 125 lakh tonnes of rice and 60 lakh tonnes of wheat and there is no space available to store more. The movement of foodgrains from Punjab to consumer states has slowed down leading to a glut in the state.
“The state government has flagged the issue with the Union ministry of food and public distribution for fast movement of foodgrains from the state,” director food and civil supplies department Puneet Goyal said, adding that the Food Corporation of India has also been requested to fasten the movement of foodgrains.
According to Goyal, the department officials have met rice millers in Ludhiana and Jalandhar to listen to their grouse. “Their (millers) concern is less recovery in new varieties, and we have asked the agriculture department to start sampling and find out about the rice recovery from the new varieties,” he further said.
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