Paddy procurement begins, main grain market remains deserted

The official paddy procurement kicked off on Tuesday across the state but the main grain market at Jalandhar bypass here wore a deserted look. Not a single tractor-trailer of produce arrived on the first day, leaving the sprawling mandi eerily quiet.

In the past, procurement usually began from October 1 but this year, it has been advanced by two weeks to cater to the early sown varieties. Owing to rainfall in the state, which also caused floods, there is high moisture content in the crop. The permissible limit for moisture content is 17 pert cent due to which the procurement will be delayed.

In the absence of arrivals, sanitation workers were seen collecting and burning garbage on the market premises. No other arrangements — such as water sprinkling, shade or weighing infrastructure — appeared to be in place.

Farmers attributed the delay to prolonged rainfall across the region, which has slowed harvesting. “Only those who sowed short-duration varieties are harvesting now,” said Baldev Singh, a farmer from Samrala. “For the rest of us, harvesting will pick up by next month,” he said.

Officials from the Mandi Board acknowledged the slow start. “There was no arrival till afternoon,” said a senior official on site. “It will take time. The crop is still standing in most fields. We are expecting the crop arrival to start in full swing by the first week of October”.

With procurement officially underway but ground activity stalled, both farmers and commission agents are bracing for a staggered season. Many say the next two weeks will be crucial in determining the pace of arrivals and the preparedness of procurement infrastructure.

DC Himanshu Jain has called on farmers to bring only dry paddy with 17 per cent or lower moisture content to grain markets to ensure a smooth procurement process. An estimated 16.55 lakh metric tonnes of paddy is expected to arrive in the Ludhiana’s grain markets and the robust infrastructure in place include 108 permanent grain markets and 79 temporary yards.