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Odisha's Food Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Thursday said the Centre has agreed to procure an additional 6 lakh mt of rice from the state. The state government has been urging the Centre to procure the surplus rice as warehouses are full. "The Government of India has agreed to procure 6 lakh mt of rice, including 5 lakh mt of boiled rice, from Odisha by April," Patra said. "The state has surplus rice of 7 lakh mt. So, the remaining 1 lakh mt of rice will be sold through auction," he added. The Centre usually procures around 50 lakh mt of rice from Odisha, officials said. Patra said paddy procurement is underway in 18 of 30 districts, and the state has secured 10.50 lakh MT of paddy from around 2.30 lakh farmers during the ongoing kharif season. "The government has paid a total of Rs 2,350 crore to the farmers as MSP and input assistance for the procured paddy," he said. Paddy procurement will continue till March, and the government will buy paddy from all registered
India's rice production is likely to touch a record 119.93 million tonne (MT) in the 2024-25 kharif season on good monsoon, according to the agriculture ministry's first advance estimate released on Tuesday. The record estimate comes amid surplus stocks in government godowns. Rice production is projected 6.67 million tonne higher than the previous year's kharif season. The harvesting of the main kharif crop is underway across the country. Among coarse cereals, maize output is estimated at an all-time high of 24.54 MT for the 2024-25 kharif season (July-June), up from 22.24 MT last year. While jowar production is estimated higher at 2.19 MT, bajra output is likely to decline to 9.37 MT. Total coarse cereals production is pegged lower at 37.81 MT against 56.93 million tonne in the year-ago period. The ministry estimates total foodgrain production at 164.70 MT for the 2024-25 kharif season, higher than 155.76 MT last year. Pulses output is expected to remain almost flat at 6.95 MT
The Centre on Wednesday said it has discontinued the sale of wheat and rice to states under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) with effect from June 13 to maintain adequate buffer stock and control price rise amid concerns of kharif crop being impacted due to expected shortfall in monsoon rains. This was informed by Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "Considering expected deficiency in rainfall caused by El-Nino as speculated by IMD due to which Kharif crop production in country may be adversely affected, and in order to control inflationary trends and to maintain adequate stock levels under central pool for distribution under National Food Security Act and other welfare schemes..., the sale of wheat and rice under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) for State Governments, including Tamil Nadu, has been discontinued with effect from June 13," she said. Replying to a separate question on wheat, the minister said
Basmati rice sales are likely to increase 30 per cent to more than Rs 50,000 crore in the current fiscal, mainly due to high realisation and healthy demand, according to a report. In the report on Thursday, Crisil Ratings said that next fiscal, however, sales will decline 5-7 per cent as basmati rice realisation is expected to soften with anticipated increase in paddy acreage. The volume demand is expected to remain stable at 6.8 million tonnes, it added. "Basmati sector sales will likely rise 30 per cent this fiscal, with volume growing 10 per cent and realisation increasing 20 per cent. "Growth in export volume is driven by two factors -- increased food grain demand amid geo-political issues, and India benefiting from lower basmati exports from flood-affected Pakistan, a key basmati exporter. Next fiscal, sector sales will reduce by 5-7 per cent solely due to moderating prices," Crisil Ratings Director Nitin Kansal said. Basmati rice exports, comprising 64 per cent of sales by
The government on Monday said the price rise in wheat and rice has been "normal" and it will intervene in the market to offload the grains if there is any abnormal increase in the rates. Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, in a press briefing, also said the government has surplus stocks of both wheat and rice in its godowns which will be used for making market intervention. "Price rise is not abnormal as it has been perceived and projected...," Pandey said. Citing the example of wheat, he said the price rise is normal as the last year's wholesale price was depressed as the government sold huge quantities under its Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to bulk consumers, he said. The whole price of wheat was ruling at Rs 2,331 per quintal on October 14, 2021, as against Rs 2,474 per quintal on the same day in 2020, he added. "Therefore, it is not advisable to compare the current year's increase in wheat with last year's. It should be compared with prices that prevailed in 2020," Pandey ...