85% dip in paddy arrivals compared to last season
A sluggish arrival of paddy has been attributed to the strike by the arthiyas who are demanding a 2.5% commission on crop purchase against the existing system of a fixed remuneration of ₹46 per quintal.
In the first week of the procurement season, the arrival rate of paddy, the key kharif crop, witnessed a fall of 85% in mandis across the state when compared to the 2023 season.
A sluggish arrival of paddy has been attributed to the strike by the arthiyas who are demanding a 2.5% commission on crop purchase against the existing system of a fixed remuneration of ₹46 per quintal.
Procurement of non-basmati crops by the government and private agencies is expected to pick up from Tuesday after a delegation of the arthiyas held a meeting with the chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh today and called off their stir.
Paddy purchase season commenced on October 1, whereas the early sown basmati rice, which is bought only by private players, began in the first week of September.
Arthiyas had boycotted the procurement of paddy by state agencies for the central pool.
Punjab mandi board data says till October 7, a total of 90,436 tonnes of paddy had arrived, and to date, only 19,912 tonnes were purchased.
Of the total purchases till Monday, the government agency procured 11,888 tonnes while the share of private players was 8,023 tonnes.
On Monday, a total of 19,951 tonnes of paddy arrived in 22 districts, and Moga is the only district which has yet to witness the arrival of paddy in the kharif crop.
Data says that in the first seven days of October 2023, Punjab had recorded a total arrival of 6.07 lakh tonnes, 85% more than the current season’s arrival.
In 2023-24, 186.56 lakh tonnes of paddy arrived, while this time, the Punjab government expects to procure 185 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice.
To date, 4.81 lakh tonnes of basmati has been arrived and the entire stock of the crop was purchased by the private players. In 2023, Punjab mandi witnessed an arrival of 4.26 lakh tonnes of basmati varieties.
Board officials said that since basmati rice is prone to discolouration and farmers could suffer losses in case it is not purchased on time, arthiyas agreed to ensure the smooth purchase of the aromatic varieties of rice.