KARIMNAGAR: Paddy procurement in the district has slowed sharply as rice millers expressed inability to lift additional stocks from procurement centres due to shortage of storage space and labour. Farmers are now facing uncertainty over the sale of their produce.
According to the Karimnagar Rice Millers Association, around 2 lakh metric tonnes of rice stock from last year’s Rabi and Kharif seasons is already lying at various rice mills across the district. With fresh arrivals from the current Rabi season, millers said there is no space left to store more government-procured paddy.
Transportation of paddy from procurement centres has also slowed considerably, while labourers are reportedly unavailable in sufficient numbers. The association further stated that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not accepting rice transportation to its godowns due to a lack of storage space. At present, only 73 of the 222 rice mills in the district are functioning, while the remaining mills reportedly became defaulters for not adhering to government guidelines.
Karimnagar Rice Millers Association president Annamaneni Sudhakar Rao said mills were already struggling with huge pending stocks. “We already have nearly 2 lakh metric tonnes of paddy stock procured during the Rabi season. There is no space for additional stocks. We requested the collector to store the remaining paddy at market yards,” he said.
He added that millers could lift around 60,000 MTs more, while nearly 1 lakh MT may have to remain at market yards.
