Rice mess in Punjab: How Food Corporation of India is to blame
Punjab’s rice millers are refusing to accept new paddy for milling due to the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) failure to move over 117 lakh metric tonnes of rice from the state. Delays from last season have led to storage and quality issues, with millers facing heavy losses. They demand that FCI clear the backlog before the new harvest.
Of the approximately 124 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of rice delivered to Food Corporation of India (FCI) by millers after the 2023-24 paddy season, only a meager 7 LMT has been moved out of the state so far. This staggering shortfall, where over 117 LMT remains stocked in FCI godowns across Punjab, has left millers and shellers grappling with storage issues and economic losses.
Last year, Punjab procured around 185 LMT of paddy, which was sent to over 5,000 rice mills for processing. The millers expected milling to be over by March 31, but FCI was unable to meet this deadline as they were not prepared to take delivery of the full quantity of rice by this timeline. Instead, small amounts were taken each month, and the process dragged on until September 30, just a day before the new paddy harvesting and procurement season began.
Rice millers are now refusing to accept new paddy for milling, demanding that the FCI first create space by moving last season’s rice out of Punjab. Without this, they argue, there will be no room for this year’s crop to be processed for the entire year. The delay in moving the rice is not only disrupting operations but also causing damage to the stored paddy in mills due to extreme hot season and then monsoon period, leading to weight loss, discoloration, and other quality issues .
Rakesh Jain, a leading rice sheller and office bearer of the Punjab Rice Millers’ association, said that they are already bearing heavy losses due to the prolonged storage of government paddy in their shellers. “Last year, we faced losses running into thousands of crores, and we cannot afford a repeat of this. When 92% of the rice was handed over to the FCI by July and still hasn’t been moved, how can we trust the system will work smoothly in the coming months as claimed by the FCI,” he asked.
Jain further warned that the situation could spiral into chaos during the current procurement season. With millers refusing to stock paddy, there will be no space in the mandis (grain markets) for farmers to bring in their new harvest. “If the government does not act fast, farmers will face immense hardship as their crops will have nowhere to go,” he added.
“The crisis highlights a severe logistical failure on the part of the FCI, as it struggles to manage the massive stockpile in Punjab. Millers have made it clear that they will prioritise purchasing their own paddy directly from the mandi and milling it as per the government’s demand, but they will not take responsibility for stocking the government-procured paddy unless last year’s stock is cleared,” he said.
With the new paddy season already underway, the urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. Unless the FCI ramps up its efforts to move the rice out of the state, both rice millers and farmers could face significant disruptions in the months ahead, said Tarsem Saini, president Punjab Rice Millers’ Association.
While FCI General Manager B Srinivasan told the Indian Express that there are around 117 LMT of rice in Punjab currently, Punjab Food and Civil Supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak on Friday said that the government was working to ensure that the Paddyy is lifted in time.
He said, “The FCI will move 15 LMT of rice from Punjab by October end and the task would be completed with the deployment of 20 trains, three containers and some small trucks. By December 31, nearly 40 LMT of rice will be moved out from state godowns thereby creating sufficient storage space. We are also constructing more godowns on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and 90 LMT storage space will be created by March next year. There will be no shortage of space for storing foodgrains.” He added that the arhtiyas have started the procurement of Basmati from Friday itself and the state government is sympathetic to their demands and the issues raised by them.
Source Link : https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/rice-stockpile-crisis-in-punjab-9604606/
