FCI faces problem with low offtake, surplus wheat stock

Food Corporation of India is battling the double whammy of plenty of grain and a sluggish offtake. The storage of 17.8 million tonnes of wheat (as on June 1), with a huge shortage of places to keep these in the major producing states of the north, allow no easy solution.

With the monsoon season round the corner, the timely evacuation of wheat to dry places with suitable storage facilities is a must. The lukewarm response from private companies for setting up storage facilities, especially in the northern states, has put state agencies in a fix.

Against the total requirement of over 17 million tonnes, FCI has been able to generate proposals from private companies for only about 1.2 mt in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This is again for open plinths, not godowns, as the cost of putting up the former is Rs 300 to Rs 600 per tonne, compared to about Rs 3,500 per tonne plus other costs for a godown.

The FCI officials contend wheat can be stored in open plinths for three years but scientists do not think so.

Jag Sheron, officiating director of the Wheat Research Institute, Karnal, said moisture levels of over 12 per cent in the atmosphere can damage wheat if stored in open plinth. During the monsoon, humidity levels in the north reach 75-80 per cent. State agencies do dry the grain after the rainy season, in the sunshine. It is then sold to millers who pass hot air through the stock to further dry it. Scientifically, though, this wheat is not good for consumption.

“The wheat grain exposed to moisture and sunshine repeatedly due to lack of proper storage facility becomes toxic. That is why silos are recommended world over for safe storage of wheat,” said Sheron.

It is a pity that our country spends Rs 5,000 crore per annum on handling of food grains but does not have a focus on investing in scientific storage, he added.