Wheat season ends, procurement up 18% than last year in Ludhiana district

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, May 27

With the wheat procurement season coming to a close, the grain purchase went up over 18 per cent as compared to previous year in the district, the administration has confirmed.

This was despite the fact that weather vagaries, which included intermittent rains coupled with thunderstorm and gusty winds, had hit hard the standing wheat crop at the fag end of the ripening stage.

Interestingly, the entire stock of wheat that had arrived across 13 mandis (grain markets) in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, had already been purchased, lifted, and full and final payments for the same had also been made to the farmers concerned.

Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik told The Tribune, here on Saturday that as many as 8,13,357.2 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat had arrived in the district this season, which was 1,24,197.2 MT, accounting for 18.02 per cent more than 6,89,160 MT of the grains that had arrived across 13 mandis in Ludhiana during the last wheat procurement season in 2022.

She said the entire arrived stock of wheat had been procured and lifted from the grain markets and the farmers had been paid a sum of Rs 1,727.31 crore, which was full and final payment for th sold grains made within the stipulated 48 hours of the purchase.

The mandi-wise procurement figures showed that Khanna, which is Asia’s largest grain market, procured the maximum of 99,425 MT of wheat this season while Maloud mandi reported the minimum of 37,669 MT of grains.

Among other mandis, Doraha procured 64,564 MT of wheat, Hathur 39,850 MT, Jagraon 91,431 MT, Kila Raipur 59,330 MT, Ludhiana 39,775 MT, Machhiwara 73,523 MT, Mullanpur Dakha 91,483 MT, Raikot 73,617 MT, Sahnewal 47,360 MT, Samrala 45,635 MT and Sidhwan Bet grain market purchased 45,888 MT of grains this year.

While government agencies procured 7,43,163.2 MT of wheat, which accounted for 91.37 per cent of the total arrived stock, private agencies purchased the remaining 70,194 MT of grains.

While Pungrain purchased the maximum of 2,17,998.35 MT of wheat, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) procured the minimum of 36,789.8 MT of the stock.

Among other agencies, Markfed purchased 1,85,699 MT of wheat, Punsup 1,84,877.05 MT, Punsup 1,17,799 MT and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) procured 1,17,799 MT of the stock.

Every grain procured: DC

“As per the commitment made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, we have been able to procure each and every grain that had arrived across 13 mandis in our district. Besides, we have been able to lift the entire purchased stock and made the full and final payment to farmers within 48 hours of the purchase,” says Surabhi Malik, Deputy Commissioner.

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