Chandigarh, April 28 – The arrival of wheat in Punjab’s procurement centres has crossed 100 lakh tonnes, while now the arrival of wheat in the mandis has slowed down. The Punjab government had earlier set a target of procurement of 124 lakh tonnes, but looking at the trend of private procurement in the mandis, it is natural that the government targets will be affected. This time the wheat season will not last long. The weather has remained favorable for most parts even during the harvest.
According to the details, 106.85 lakh tonnes of wheat have arrived in the mandis of Punjab till Monday. Out of this, 104.71 lakh tonnes of wheat has been procured. The Punjab government is confident that farmers have not faced any trouble at the procurement centres during the Rabi procurement season. It is certain that now the issue of lifting wheat from the mandis has arisen.
The daily arrival of wheat in the mandis has remained between five and six lakh tonnes. The wheat yield is good this time and farmers are currently storing wheat in their homes. Wheat prices in the national market are expected to remain high. Currently, 57.52 percent of the crop is waiting to be lifted in the mandis. Government officials say that the lifting work has been affected due to the sudden arrival of the crop. Officials also claim that 97 percent of the purchased crop has been paid for. The Punjab government had decided to lift about 18 lakh tonnes of wheat directly from the mandis this time. The central government is providing an average of 22 to 25 trains to Punjab daily. So far, about five lakh tonnes of wheat has been lifted directly from the mandis and sent through trains. The central government has fixed the time for wheat procurement till May 15, but the work of harvesting the crop will be completed in the first week of May itself.