Telangana millers look to FCI for quicker lifting of CMR stocks
Almost all the mills that are drafted for custom milling for the season are ready with adequate CMR stocks. CI could lift only 100 to 110 wagons a month
Hyderabad: The millers in the State are looking forward to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for quicker lifting of the custom milled rice (CMR) in full quantity thus meeting their obligation. It is for the FCI to ensure movement of adequate number of wagons and to facilitate adequate storage facility. But on both counts it seems to be failing.
Almost all the mills that are drafted for custom milling for the season are ready with adequate CMR stocks. The special drive taken up by the State Civil Supplies Corporation against the CMR defaulters started paying dividends. The millers have stepped up their milling operations and ready to deliver as much as possible by avoiding delays.
The Civil Supplies Corporation had huge debt burden to be serviced. It would be able to recover the investments made on paddy procurement only with the millers ensuring CMR deliveries to the FCI in time. The Civil Supplies Corporation is hopeful of avoiding delays and defaults this year.
But the storage facility readily available with the FCI in the state had come down from 22 lakh metric tonnes to 15 lakh tonnes. The FCI godowns at the headquarters of the erstwhile districts are fully packed. The wagon movement facilitated by the FCI for lifting CMR stocks had come down. The FCI could provide less than 110 wagons a month as against the actual requirement of 200 to 250 wagons.
The FCI could give the state less than 105 wagon in May and 100 wagons in April for lifting the CM stocks. There were occasions when the state millers could deliver over 10 lakh metric tonnes a month. They are ready take up the milling operations at their full capacity provided the stocks were lifted promptly.
In January last, the CMR deliveries were in the order of 8.8 lakh tonnes. The state could procure so far 47.94 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in the Rabi Marketing season this years. The Civil Supplies Department is expected to help resolve the storage issue taking it up with the FCI without further loss of time.
