Punjab faces mandi space crunch as 17 LMT wheat remains stuck; Mann seeks urgent grain movement

Chandigarh : Punjab is staring at a storage squeeze just as paddy arrivals are set to peak, with nearly 17 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat still occupying rice mills and mandi yards, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has warned the Centre.

Mann has asked Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi to ensure the immediate movement of 6 LMT rice by October 10 and 15 LMT wheat during October, arguing that the space must be cleared before large volumes of paddy reach Punjab’s mandis.

The warning comes as Punjab still has nearly 6 LMT of custom-milled rice pending for delivery to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from the 2025-26 Kharif Marketing Season. Against the state’s due quantity of 105.64 LMT, only 99.50 LMT had been delivered by September 29.

Mann said the space shortage could directly affect farmers if rice mills and mandis cannot accommodate incoming paddy.

“If these wheat stocks are not moved, as a natural consequence, it will prevent farmers from unloading their produce in mandis while there will not be enough space in the rice mills for storage of paddy,” Mann said in his letter.

He also warned that the situation could escalate into a law-and-order problem during peak arrivals.

The Chief Minister said nearly 40 LMT of wheat procured during RMS 2026-27 had been stored at rice mills and mandi yards because of inadequate storage capacity in Punjab. About 17 LMT remains there, despite repeated requests for faster movement.

Punjab had sought movement of 15 LMT rice and 10-12 LMT wheat during September, but only 8.30 LMT rice and 4.30 LMT wheat was moved out between September 1 and 29.

With the new Kharif procurement season beginning and peak paddy arrivals expected around October 10, Mann said clearing the stocks has become urgent.

“Delivery of all pending rice to FCI by then is of paramount importance,” he said, warning that carrying forward the balance could complicate stock accounting, milling and procurement operations.

The Chief Minister also flagged growing pressure on rice millers, saying delays in rice delivery were already causing unrest among them. If deliveries extend beyond mid-October, he said, millers may be reluctant to take up storage and milling of the new paddy crop.

Punjab has been seeking at least 10 LMT monthly movement of wheat and rice since June. The combined movement stood at 11.91 LMT in June, 11.60 LMT in July, 12.72 LMT in August and 12.60 LMT up to September 29.

Mann has now sought directions to FCI and the Department of Food and Public Distribution for 6 LMT rice movement between October 1 and 10 and 15 LMT wheat movement during October, saying the objective is to prevent a storage bottleneck from disrupting procurement in Punjab’s mandis.

He said such disruption must be avoided in the sensitive border state during the peak procurement period.