Overview
- Punjab’s procurement, which resumed Tuesday after a brief halt, is limited to lots that meet Fair Average Quality rules and moisture caps.
- The restart followed a Sunday walkout triggered by a Pungrain official’s removal for refusing substandard grain, with staff citing liability without formal relaxations.
- Farmers report slow purchases and poor facilities in Sangrur and Barnala, and arrivals remain thin in Ludhiana and Doaba because rain left grain too wet to meet the 12% moisture limit.
- Union food ministry teams have been sampling mandis for three days to inform a decision on whether to relax norms for damaged or high-moisture wheat.
- Haryana reports uninterrupted buying with 10.92 lakh tonnes procured and about ₹188 crore paid to growers, while Pakistan’s Punjab ordered immediate purchases at Rs3,500 per maund with free gunny bags and Sindh pressed officials to speed up.