Archive · 6 Oct 2026
Punjab’s Grain Storage Backlog Meets New Paddy Arrivals
Punjab is starting to receive this year’s paddy harvest.
But some paddy from the previous season is still being processed.
Government agencies buy the paddy and send it to rice mills.
The mills turn it into rice, which is then delivered to the government.
The deadline for delivering rice from the 2025-26 crop was extended to November 30.
That means work on older stocks overlaps with the new procurement season.
About 6 lakh tonnes of old paddy are still being milled.
Fresh paddy is also arriving and being assigned to mills, creating a backlog.
Punjab’s paddy harvest is underway, bringing fresh crop into the state’s mandis.
Stocks from the previous procurement season have not yet been fully cleared.
Government agencies buy paddy, which is stored at rice mills for custom milling.
Milled rice is delivered to government agencies and added to the central pool.
The Centre extended the 2025-26 rice-delivery deadline to November 30, leaving old stocks to be processed as the 2026-27 procurement season ends.
- Who
- Punjab, government procurement agencies, rice mills, and the Centre.
- What
- Fresh paddy arrivals are overlapping with the milling and delivery of old stocks.
- When
- During the 2026-27 procurement season; the delivery deadline for 2025-26 crop rice was extended to November 30.
- Where
- Punjab, including its mandis and rice mills.
- Why
- Old paddy remains to be milled and its rice delivered while new paddy is arriving.
- Old paddy awaiting processing
- 6 lakh tonnes
- Extended delivery deadline
- November 30
- Old crop season
- 2025-26
- New procurement season
- 2026-27
- Procurement process
- Government agencies purchase paddy; mills process it into rice for delivery to government agencies and the central pool.