Foodgrain Offtake Under Pds Falls Drastically During Q1

The total offtake of foodgrains has declined to 24.7 lakh tonne during April-June this year compared to 37.69 lakh tonne lifted by the states for PDS during the same period of last year, according to official figures.

The decline is more perceptible in above poverty line (APL) with the foodgrain offtake falling to 6.47 lakh tonne this year from 22.65 lakh tonne in the same period last year. Industry sources said this was on expected lines, since the government had removed all subsidies for the category from April this year.

Surprisingly, the wheat offtake under below poverty line (BPL) also declined during the first quarter, despite the government doubling the allocation from 10 kg per family per month to 20 kg.

 

However, the offtake under this category has been showing a steady increase over the period. The total foodgrain offtake under BPL during the first three months was higher at 18.23 lakh tonne compared to 15.04 lakh tonne last year.

During the quarter, the offtake of wheat for BPL and APL was only 6.71 lakh tonne against an allotment of 26.45 lakh tonne. While in the case of rice, the offtake during April-June was only 17.99 lakh tonne compared to a total allotment of 36.98 lakh tonne during the period.

Sources said, the sharp decline in offtake has added to the problems of food corporation of india (FCI), which is already reeling under the problem of plenty.

The efforts of consumer affairs and public distribution ministry to dispose off part of the excess stocks of wheat, through open market sale scheme has also not been successful, as the market prices are ruling below the rate fixed by the government under the scheme.

Efforts by the government to export excess wheat in barter trade has also not borne fruit. This year, FCI godowns are saddled with excess stocks to the tune of 37 million tonne, about 13 million tonne in excess of the minimum buffer stock needed for food security.

According to government projections, the problem is likely to worsen with the surplus wheat alone expected to touch 16.5 million tonne by the first of April-2001.