Talking to the media, Guru said applications for providing space for over 100 metric tonnes of grains were being processed. “The increased space will end the problem of bulk storage,” he said, adding that Tarn Taran district had recorded the highest arrival of paddy as 86 per cent of the produced grain had reached the markets, followed by Amritsar at 75 per cent.
Asked about the slight decrease of Punjab’s contribution of rice to the national pool, he said more areas falling under cash crops and production of paddy in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, which were earlier among the consuming states, had led to the trend.
“Our target production of 142 lakhs metric tonnes of rice is being met and there has been no dip in the production,” said Guru, who toured the mandis in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur.