Govt's rice procurement down 5%

Last year, kharif rice procurement was 26.6 million tonnes against a target of 32.06 million tonnes

Rice procurement by government agencies stood at 9.9 million tonnes (mt) in the marketing year 2014-15 so far, lower by five per cent against 10.4 mt in the corresponding period last year.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies undertake procurement of rice and wheat to ensure that farmers get a minimum support price (MSP).  

Rice marketing year runs from October to September. Annual procurement target for this year is 30 mt.

“Rice procurement as on November 16 of the current year is slightly lower than the last year’s period. The gap in the procurement will be covered later,” a senior FCI official told PTI.

Much of the grain purchase is happening in Punjab and Haryana while the procurement in Telangana has started on Monday. The grain buying in other states such as Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will begin after two weeks, he said. In Punjab, rice procurement was 7.6 mt so far this year, as against 7.9 mt in the year-ago, while in Haryana, it reached 1.9 mt against 2.4 mt in the review period. In Telangana, as much as 212,000 tonnes of rice was procured so far this year.

Last year, kharif rice procurement was 26.6 mt against the target of 32.06 mt.