Rice procurement down by nearly 1% this crop year

The government has procured 25.1 million tonnes of rice since October last year, nearly 1% less than the year-ago period.

Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, purchased 25.26 million tonnes of rice in the corresponding period of the 2009-10 marketing year (October-September).

The government had procured 32 million tonnes of rice in the entire 2009-10 marketing year.

Arrivals of paddy have declined marginally to 39.89 million tonnes so far this year from 39.97 million tonnes in the same period last year.

In Andhra Pradesh, rice procurement stands at 4.07 million tonnes so far this crop year, as against 3.71 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

Similarily, procurement has risen to 3.49 million tonnes in Chhattisgarh in the current marketing year so far from 3.02 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

In contrast, procurement in Punjab -- which is the largest contributor to the central pool -- has declined to 8.63 million tonnes so far this year, compared to 9.28 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

Likewise, procurement in Orissa dipped to 1.55 million tonnes during the period under review from 1.80 million tonnes in the corresponding year-ago period.

According to the Agriculture Ministry's second advance estimates, the country is expected to produce 94.01 million tonnes of rice in 2010-11 crop year, as against 89.09 million tonnes last year.