Punjab wheat to rot as granaries close to brim
Rising stocks are expected to force the state food and civil supplies department to leave over 3 mt of wheat in ‘uncovered’ or ‘unscientific’ storage (covered and plinth — CAP) facilities as capacity falls short. “If more exports are not allowed, we will be left with huge stocks and this will force us to keep around 3.3 mt of wheat in unscientific storage systems,” said food and consumer affairs secretary DS Grewal. The government has so far allowed exports of just 2 mt; another 2.5 mt is under consideration.
In the last few years, the Punjab government started buying wheat on April 1 with 5-5.5 mt stocks. This year, Food Corporation of India (FCI) started wheat purchases in Punjab with a stock in excess of 6.5 mt. With the current wheat stock in Punjab pegged at around 14 mt, the state food department anticipates opening stocks on April 1, 2013, at over 9 mt. “We may be left with wheat stocks close to 10 mt when the procurement drive formally starts next fiscal,”
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