Over 101 lakh tonnes of wheat procured in Punjab

Chandigarh, May 14 (UNI) Six government agencies and private millers in Punjab have procured more than 101.96 lakh tonnes of wheat against 74.33 lakh tonnes procured till date last year recording a growth of over 37 per cent than last year.

According to an official spokesman, out of 101,96,983 tonnes procured till date, over 96.17 lakh tonnes has been procured for the central pool and 2.87 lakh tonnes (2.8 per cent) for the state pool whereas traders lifted over 2.92 lakh tonnes of wheat.

The spokesman said that till May 13, PUNGRAIN had procured over 17.92 lakh tonnes (18.6 per cent) whereas MARKFED procured 23.06 lakh tonnes (24 per cent).

PUNSUP procured over 22.07 lakh tonnes (23 per cent), PSWC procured over 11.77 lakh tonnes (12.4 per cent) whereas PAIC was able to procure 10.87 lakh tonnes (11.3 per cent) of wheat for the central pool. The Central Government agency FCI has been able to procure over 10.45 lakh tonnes (10.9 per cent) for the central pool.

He added that Ferozepur district with 11.89 lakh tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas Sangrur district with 9.46 lakh tonnes of procurement was at second slot and Ludhiana district with 8.43 lakh tonnes of procurement ranked at the third position.

The state goverment had allocated more than Rs 11316 crores to the agencies for making payment to the farmers for wheat procured upto May 12 so as to ensur payment to the farmers within 48 hours of lifting of their crops.

The state government has set up over 1623 procurement centres and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of wheat, the spokesman added.

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