Rice procurement down by 5% at 29 mn tonnes

The government has procured 29 million tonnes of rice since October last year, five per cent less than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other state agencies had procured 30.53 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

The rice marketing year runs from October to September.

Procurement has declined on account of a sharp fall in rice production in the 2009-10 crop year to 89.31 million tonnes from a record 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year due to a severe drought in 2009.
    
The procurement of rice, which is grown in both the kharif and rabi seasons, stood at a record 33.68 million tonnes in the 2008-09 marketing year.
    
According to official data, states like Punjab, Haryana and Chhattisgarh have witnessed an increase in rice procurement in the 2009-10 marketing year compared to the previous year.
    
Punjab has procured 9.27 million tonnes of rice so far in the 2009-10 marketing year against 8.53 million tonnes in the same period last year.
    
Similarly, procurement in Haryana has increased to 1.81 million tonnes of rice in the 2009-10 marketing year so far against 1.42 million tonnes in the review period.
    
In the current marketing year, Chhattisgarh has so far bought 3.10 million tonnes of rice, an increase of 21.56 per cent from 2.55 million tonnes in the previous year.
    
However, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are the two major states which have witnessed a drastic decline in rice procurement.
    
Uttar Pradesh has till now procured 2.66 million tonnes of rice, which is a significant 26.3 per cent lower than 3.61 million tonnes last year.
    
Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, has witnessed a 20 per cent drop in rice procurement compared to last year. It has procured 5.87 million tonnes so far during the current marketing year against 7.36 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.