Punjab seeks ₹29,000-cr CCL for procuring wheat
Wheat production is likely to cross 170 lakh tonnes this rabi season, out of which 135 lakh tonnes is expected to arrive for procurement
CHANDIGARH: As the food and civil supplies department gears up for wheat procurement from April 1, the Punjab government has sought a cash credit limit (CCL) of ₹29,000 crores from the Centre.
According to the state agriculture department estimates, wheat production is likely to cross 170 lakh tonnes this rabi season, out of which 135 lakh tonnes is expected to arrive for procurement by the four state agencies and Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI). In the 2021 kharif season, state agencies had procured 190 lakh tonnes of paddy.
On the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommendations, the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare has fixed ₹2,015 per quintal as the minimum support price for wheat in the current season, offering a hike of ₹40 per quintal.
The Union ministry for food and public distribution that sanctions the CCL — to be paid by a consortium of banks and financial institutions with Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’S approval — is insisting that the Punjab government should cap procurement at 130 lakh tonnes, the same as wheat procured in the previous rabi season (2020-21). However, the state food department officials said they were making arrangements with liberal estimates so that there is no problem if it’s a bumper crop and arrivals are more than expected.
As per quota allotted to different state procurement agencies, Pungrain will procure 25.5% (34.4 lakh tonnes), Markfed 24% (32.4 lakh tonnes), Punsup 23.5% (31.7 lakh tonnes), state ware housing corporation 14.4% (19.5 lakh tonnes) and FCI 12.6% (17 lakh tonnes).
All the state agencies have been directed to make arrangements for gunny bales and storage. A total of 4.37 lakh gunny bales are required for the procurement, with a capacity of 50 kilogram each. Out of the total arrival, the state will keep 8.7 lakh tonnes for decentralised procurement in order to distribute wheat under the public distribution system and other schemes run by the Centre.
40L tonne in godowns Currently, there are 40 lakh tonne of wheat stocks in the state godowns. Every month, at least 12-13 lakh tonne stocks are being used under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, under which the allocations to 80 crore beneficiaries has been doubled to 10-kilogram food grains due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
By the time fresh procurement begins in the upcoming season, the stocks are expected to come down to 25 lakh tones, which is the lowest opening stocks balance in the state during rabi procurement in the past five years. There is 94 lakh tonnes rice in the state godowns and 100 lakh tonnes paddy waiting to be milled, to make 66 lakh tonnes more rice.
In June last year, Punjab faced a critical situation as the state then had all-time high stocks — 290 lakh tonnes (180 lakh tonnes wheat and 110 lakh tonnes rice) of the three seasons from 2019-2021 and 42 lakh tonnes of paddy stored with the millers waiting to be shelled. The stocks state was storing at that time were one-third of stocks (850 lakh tones) stored in the country.