Shipment of foodgrain, flour, and pulses grow 148% in first week of FY21

Except for foodgrain, flour and pulses, transport of all other commodities showed negative growth

Shipment of foodgrain, flour, and pulses has shown a 148 per cent increase year-on-year (YoY) to 1.24 million tonnes (mt) during the first week of the current fiscal year. This is in contrast to other commodities handled by the Railways, most of which are showing a massive drop because of the lockdown.
 

People in the know said a major reason for the rise was the movement of foodgrains by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to various states to counter the shortage.
 

FCI moved 662 rakes carrying 1.9 mt of foodgrains across the country in 14 days starting March 24. For the Railways, 64 per cent of the rake handled for rice and wheat during the period was loaded from Punjab and Haryana. Except foodgrains, flour, and pulses, all other commodities showed negative growth.
 

During the first week of FY21, cement traffic declined by 98 per cent, iron and steel by 64 per cent, petroleum by 47 per cent, minerals and ores by 39 per cent, and coal and coke by 29 per cent, YoY. There was a 36 per cent decline in total freight movement during the first week.
 

According to an official, there was a sudden spike in loading requirement from an average 15 rakes to 40 a day, in the Northern Railway zone alone.

A major reason for this was enhanced food loading from Punjab and Haryana, and speedy dispatch to deficient states after the government announced an additional 15 kg of grains per beneficiary free of cost.

From March 24 to April 6, FCI moved around 0.14 mt of foodgrains daily on an average — almost 80 per cent more than the pre-lockdown period. Besides, 0.13 mt of rice and an equal quantity of wheat has been transported during the same period for atta manufacturers and packaged atta producers.

Both FCI and the Railways have worked out a joint action plan for loading and unloading of foodgrains.

First, FCI gives the schedule of foodgrain movement from supplier states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. Following this, the Railways approves the same according to operational feasibility.

Next, indents are placed by FCI in various states. Destinations where the foodgrain rakes are to be moved are jointly decided by the deputy chief operations manager of the concerned zone and the sassistant general manager of FCI.

When it comes to unloading, foodgrains, flour, and pulses topped during the first week of April, up from 0.78 mt during the same time last year to 1.09 mt now, a 41 per cent rise.

So far, states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, and Mizoram have started lifting additional quantities of wheat and rice from the Centre’s pool.
 

The Union government has assured states it has enough quantity of wheat and rice in its warehouse for distribution through ration shops.

India’s wheat and rice stocks in the Centre’s pool, as on March 10, 2020, was estimated to be 77.72 mt (including 19.24 mt of unmilled paddy), while the total annual requirement of grains to smoothly run the NFSA, based on last three years’ average, is around 54 mt. This means that even before the country has started its annual wheat procurement for the 2020-21 season from April 1, it had, in its warehouses, more than a year’s quota of ration.