The Hindu : Flour mills hit by wagon shortage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 29, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Flour mills hit by wagon shortage

By S. Vydhianathan

CHENNAI, MARCH 28. Roller flour mills in the State, which are supplying atta, maida and sooji, are facing crisis as they are not getting whole wheat in adequate quantity. There are about 50 flour mills and a majority of them are working below their installed capacity, according to the Tamilnadu Roller Flour Mills Association.

The mills depend totally on wheat-growing northern States or the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for their raw material supply. After the FCI stopped open sale through its zonal office in the State, the mills have no alternative but to move wheat from the north by road or rail.

While road transport is prohibitive, a sufficient number of rail wagons are not made available to the mills. With the result, the mills are not getting sufficient quantity of wheat in time, affecting their very survival.

The association president, M.V. Balasubramanian, said though wheat in abundant quantity was available in northern centres, they could not move sufficient stocks due to the ``indifferent attitude'' of the Railways. There was no dedicated movement of wheat even under the sponsored rake scheme and the least priority was being given in wagon allotment for foodgrains movement.

The situation, he said, would become worse after April when more stocks arrived at growing centres after harvest.

Another problem for the mills, he said, was dumping of wheat products by north Indian millers. As these mills got raw material locally at a lesser price, their production cost was comparatively low. They were flooding the retail market here at a lesser price. In the process, the flour mills, which were purchasing wheat from the open market at a higher price from the northern States, were being pushed out of business.

The worst affected, he said, were exporters of wheat products who had received orders but were not able to supply at the price agreed upon.

Moreover, thousands of bakeries were depending on the flour mills. The association wanted the Tamil Nadu Government to arrange for regular supply of the raw material to the mills at a reasonable price, to avert closure.

Railways denies charge

Meanwhile, sources in the Railways here said the wagons for wheat transport had to be allotted by other zones, where wheat was procured by the millers.

Denying that a sufficient number of wagons were not allotted for foodgrains movement, the sources pointed out that on an average seven or eight rakes, each containing 40 wagons, carrying foodgrains, were arriving here everyday from northern centres.

Perhaps their demand might be more.

The sources suggested that the association go in for the ``own your wagon'' scheme, instead of depending on the Railways. Under the scheme, the mills could move stocks when required, besides leasing the wagons to other industries.

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