While Punjab has already crossed last year’s total paddy arrival of 141 lakh metric tonnes (total arrivals till November 20 were 147.2 lakh metric tonnes), significantly, the total arrivals of basmati varieties have more than doubled this year. Against 4 lakh MT of total basmati arrivals last year, the figure this year is already 9.11 lakh MT and still counting. On the corresponding date last year, just 2.76 lakh tonnes of basmati had arrived in state mandis.
The prices, too, have never been better. Against Rs 2,200 to Rs 2,400 per quintal fetched last year, basmati rates touched an all-time high of Rs 3,600 per quintal in mandis yesterday. However, the procurement by government agencies has slowed down and hover around the present 120 lakh MT. “It’s mainly superfine paddy varieties that are arriving in state mandis now which are purchased by private traders. So government procurement is likely to be around 120 lakh MT, while those of private traders will go up from the present 27 lakh MT,” Punjab Agricultural Marketing Board GM (Enforcement) S.S. Randhawa said.
Notably, Punjab witnessed a bumper harvest in the year 2004-05 when paddy arrivals touched 154.64 lakh metric tonnes, before falling to 147.9 lakh metric tonnes in 2005-06.