No bumper harvest,but wheat chokes mandis

The grain markets in the state are chock-a-block with wheat,but unfortunately not because of a bumber harvest.

The grain markets in the state are chock-a-block with wheat,but unfortunately not because of a bumber harvest. The fact is that agencies are lifting the grain at such a slow pace that on April 19,of the total arrival of wheat in various mandis nearly 68.76 lakh metric tonne 36.42 lakh metric tonne was yet to be lifted.

The state was expected to cross the 115 lakh metric tonne-mark of last year,but now it seems it might just break even,or may be not even that,say wheat experts from the Punjab Agricultural University.

The largest stock wheat harvest is lying in district Ferozepur (4.47 lakh tonnes),followed by Taran Taran (3.36 lakh tonnes) and Patiala (3.32 lakh tonnes). At present,the daily arrival of wheat in mandis is around 7.05 lakh tonnes,while it was 5.74 lakh tonnes last year.

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PAU wheat expert Dr Navtej Singh Bains says,While it is too early to say anything,till now there has been no reports of bumper crop from any corner of the state. At the same time,there has been no reports of massive scale down as well,so it has kind of balanced out. Better yield in some places has balanced out the loss at other places.

He said,The weather in the beginning of the Rabi season was perfect. But then around mid-march and upto the third week,there was a spike in temperature that damaged the crop.

Adding to this,Punjab Mandi Board chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said,We have always maintained that the process of lifting should be handed over to arhtiyas. We have reports coming in from smaller mandis that farmers have no place to unload their harvest. Grain is lying on roads here.

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