Rice millers threaten to stay away from procurement
Private rice mill owners in the State have threatened not to cooperate with the official paddy procurement process unless the government fulfilled the assurances it gave.
The Kerala Rice Millers Association has decided not to sign any contract for paddy procurement as the government failed to keep its promises.
Association leaders said here on Tuesday that the rice mills had collected the paddy in the past seasons on the basis of the assurances given by Ministers and officials of the Finance and Food departments on the advice of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The leaders said that the government had no sincerity in paddy procurement.
They said the government had failed to release the handling charges as well as the damage suffered in the 2018 devastating floods. The government owed ₹15 crore to the rice millers, they said.
They said the issue of out-turn ratio was still not settled. The millers had readied for procurement as the government agreed on an out-turn ratio of 64.5 kg rice per quintal paddy. However, the government’s procurement agency Supplyco insisted on an out-turn ratio of 68%. The millers said that it was not acceptable to them.
They said the government had not implemented the increase in handling charge. In 2017, it was decided to increase the handling charge of ₹214 per quintal to ₹272. “We want the government to implement the increase in handling charges,” said K. K. Karnan, president, Kerala Rice Millers Association.
The millers said that they would welcome the government move to procure paddy through cooperative societies. The eight mills that signed a procurement contract with the government were on the blacklist, they said.
If the 58 private rice mills in the State stay away from procurement, it will be a big blow for the farmers. Many of the farmers are yet to get the price for the second crop of paddy procured months ago by Supplyco. Farmers in the State have begun to sell paddy in open market for a much less price as there is uncertainty in the procurement of this season’s first crop.
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