Wheat arrival picks up, but slow lifting clogs mandis in Panipat, Sonepat

After two days of rain, wheat arrival has picked up pace across grain markets in Panipat and Sonepat, but slow lifting by procurement agencies has led to stockpile congestion in the mandis.

In Sonepat district, 76,567 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat have been procured across 24 grain markets and purchase centres as of Saturday evening. However, only 17,701 MT (23%) has been lifted so far. Four agencies — Food and Supply, Haryana Warehousing Corporation (HWC), HAFED, and Food Corporation of India (FCI) — are involved in the procurement.

As per the procurement figures, Food and Supply Department has procured 31,578 MT of wheat of which 10,131 MT has been lifted, while HAFED has procured 29,995 MT, of which 2,939 MT has been lifted. Similarly, HWC has procured 13,321 MT of which 2,908 MT has been lifted and FCI has procured 1,673 MT.

In Panipat, 9.30 lakh quintals of wheat have arrived, of which 7.33 lakh quintals have been procured. But only 1.17 lakh quintals (16.03%) have been lifted so far, leading to concerns of space crunch.

Sanjay Verma, chairman, Sonepat Arhtiyas Association, said, “Wheat arrival is increasing rapidly, and mandis are beginning to clog. Farmers are hurrying to sell their produce to avoid damage from fire or weather, but slow lifting is causing major bottlenecks.”

He added that a new problem has surfaced with trucks being rejected by FCI godowns over moisture content. “The government is accepting wheat at 12% moisture, but FCI officials are turning back trucks saying the moisture should be 10% and the grain must be cleaner. This is unfair,” Verma said.

The delay in lifting is also delaying payments to farmers, as government payments are released only after the crop is moved from the mandis.

Baljeet Singh, president of the Samalkha grain market, echoed the concern. “Lifting is at tortoise speed. Out of 2.55 lakh quintals procured, only 34,150 quintals have been lifted,” he said.

Panipat grain market president Dinesh Bhoker said, “Wheat arrival has surged, and lifting has started, but the pace is still slow. However, we expect the situation to improve in the coming days.”

Haryana Tribune