iGrain India - The current crisis in the government procurement of paddy in Punjab has escalated into a serious issue, and it is exacerbated by a lack of proper storage infrastructure.
As the largest contributor of food grains to India's central pool, Punjab is expected to supply 124 lakh tons of rice out of a total of 185 lakh tons of paddy this year. However, there is a massive shortage of warehouse space to store the rice, with only enough capacity to store about 25 lakh tons.
This leaves a staggering shortfall of 99 lakh tons in terms of storage space, creating a significant challenge for the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to manage and process the rice.
Warehouse space needs to be cleared for the incoming stock of newly procured paddy, but this requires the timely removal of older stock, some of which has deteriorated due to poor storage practices.
The FCI has missed the deadline (June 30) for removing last year’s stock, which further compounds the crisis.
Another contributing factor is the delay in the milling process, which has exacerbated the accumulation of old stocks. Ideally, the rice should have been moved out earlier, but this didn’t happen, leaving warehouses overflowing with poor-quality rice that is now difficult to manage.
As the procurement season begins, the priority should have been to free up space for the new paddy, but efforts to dispatch the old stock to other states have been insufficient.
The Punjab Finance Minister has publicly criticized the central government for its handling of the situation, claiming that the delays in removing the rice stock are part of a strategy to reduce the paddy procurement from Punjab, undermining the state's farmers.
This further highlights the tension between state and central governments over food grain procurement policies.
Despite these challenges, the Union Food Minister has reassured that every grain of paddy will be procured, but millers remain concerned that if storage space is not cleared in time, the FCI may refuse to accept the new stocks, thereby exacerbating the situation.
With the deadline for procurement set for November 30, 2024, it remains uncertain whether Punjab will meet its procurement targets under these strained conditions.
If the storage and logistical issues are not addressed immediately, both the state’s farmers and the broader food security system could face serious repercussions.