Amid bumper paddy yield, Punjab, Haryana procure 235 lakh tonnes

Agrarian states Punjab and Haryana have procured over 235 lakh tonnes of paddy so far, Food and Supplies Department officials said here on Tuesday.

Punjab has procured over 169 lakh tonnes and Haryana over 66 lakh tonnes, heading towards record paddy procurement this season.

Government agencies have procured 98.5 per cent of the paddy arriving in the grain markets in Punjab and nearly 95 per cent in Haryana. The remaining paddy has been procured by rice millers and private traders.

Punjab is expecting a record procurement of over 182 lakh tonnes of paddy this year compared with over 168 lakh tonnes last year.

Paddy arrival in Haryana is much higher than the over 60 lakh tonnes that arrived in the state's grain markets corresponding period last year.

The procurement, which began in both states on October 1, will continue till November end.

The Reserve Bank of India has sanctioned over Rs 33,800 crore for paddy procurement in Punjab in this kharif season.

--IANS

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