Chandigarh, Feb. 5 -- A new trend has emerged in Punjab's paddy shelling system, with rice millers transporting shelled rice to neighbouring states such as Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir to hand it over to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the public distribution system.

Punjab has a total foodgrain storage capacity of about 180 lakh tonnes, most of which is already occupied by stocks from previous seasons, raising concerns over storage space for the current rice procurement.

Of the total capacity, around 130 lakh tonnes of rice and 50 lakh tonnes of wheat from earlier seasons are currently stored in the state, leaving virtually no space for freshly procured rice, an official familiar with the matter said.

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