Usually, on festival days, the grain markets in Panjab remain near empty as the laborers – mostly migrants – stay home for the festival. However, this Diwali an unprecedented 4.7M tonne paddy arrived in the grain markets. There is suspicion over the illegal inflow of paddy from states such Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, from where it is bought at cheaper rates to be sold at Minimum Support Price (MSP) in Panjab. This year, for the ongoing paddy procurement season, the Centre announced an MSP of Rs 2,183 per quintal. The farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar mostly sell their produce to the local traders who pick the produce at prices sometimes ranging as low as Rs 1,100 per quintal. The scale this time is high but this has been an issue for years. The illegal trade of paddy in Panjab is more than actual production. In Panjab – computing by average yield per acre – the total production should be 15.2MT in 2019-20, 16.9MT in 2018-19 and 16.4MT in 2017-18. However, government agencies bought 16.3MT, 17.4MT and 17.95MT paddy in 2019-20, 2018-19, and 2017-18 respectively. This inflow of paddy from states which do not have MSP is evidence that MSP must be offered at source. Bihar abolished the grain market system and MSP in 2006. Paddy from Bihar, travels hundreds of kilometers and comes to Panjab for sale. Despite the transportation costs, the traders make profits. During the Farmers Protest 2020-21, one of the central demands was MSP on major crops in all states. The union government promised to set up a committee but has not moved in the direction in the last two years.
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