Chandigarh: Union minister of state for railways and food processing industries Ravneet Singh Bittu has stated that the department of food and public distribution had increased the rates of commission to arhtiyas and societies for paddy and wheat from the Rabi marketing season 2026-27 onwards.The hike was approved on the recommendations of a committee to review the commission rates of arhtiyas/societies, Bittu stated in a letter to Pralhad Joshi, the Union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution and new and renewable energy, on Thursday.Referring to a long-standing demand for an increase in the rates of commission to arhtiyas/societies, Bittu wrote, “Accordingly, a committee was set up for review of rates of commission to arhtiyas/societies. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the department of food and public distribution vide letter dated March 16, 2026, has increased the rates of commission to arhtiyas and societies for paddy and wheat from the Rabi marketing season 2026-27 onwards.“In response to Joshi’s March 13 letter regarding wheat procurement in Punjab during Rabi marketing season 2026-27, Bittu stated that the rates allowed to arhtiyas for Punjab and Haryana had been enhanced from Rs 46/quintal to Rs 50.75/quintal for wheat with effect from Rabi marketing season 2026-27, and for paddy, from Rs 45.88/quintal to Rs 50.61/quintal with effect from Kharif marketing season 2026-27.In the letter, a copy of which the minister put out on X, he stated the rates of commission to societies were also enhanced from Rs 27/quintal to Rs 29.79/quintal for wheat and from Rs 32/quintal to Rs 35.30/quintal for paddy.Bittu further noted: “The department of food and public distribution is undertaking regular review and monitoring of the preparedness of the state govt agencies, in consultation with the state govts.”“Nodal officers from FCI have been designated to work in close coordination with the State govt officers in the field. A specifically developed procurement centre self-assessment portal (PCSAP) has been made applicable for wheat procurement centres to assess the infrastructure and facilities at the procurement centres for the convenience of the farmers,” he added.The letter also read, “The department of food and public distribution has assisted the state in making arrangements for packaging material for the upcoming wheat procurement during Rabi marketing season 26-27. The state has been allocated 4.88 lakh bales (1 bale = 500 bags) for the Rabi marketing season 2026-27 and has already made available 4.76 lakh jute/HDPE bags for wheat packaging. To mitigate the shortage, the department has also approved the procurement of used jute and HDPE bags through GeM (Government e-Marketplace). With this additional arrangement, sufficient packing material will be available to fully meet the procurement target without any operational constraints.”It further read, “During the peak wheat procurement and dispatch window of April-June, FCI moved 58.31 LMT of foodgrains (wheat and rice combined) from Punjab in 2023-24, 48.31 LMT in 2024-25, and 46.11 LMT in 2025-26. On an overall annual basis, total foodgrain movement from the Punjab region stood at 162.77 LMT in 2023-24, 177.32 LMT in 2024-25, and 154.79 LMT in 2025-26 (figures for March 2026 are tentative).”“The department, in coordination with the FCI and the state govt, has undertaken advance planning for Rabi marketing season 2026-27 to ensure sufficient and timely evacuation of wheat stocks from Punjab, including pre-positioning of rakes, optimisation of rail movement plans, and clearance of storage capacity at consuming-state depots, so that procurement operations proceed without bottleneck,” Bittu added.MSID:: 130004088 413 |
