Govt not to stop private firms from buying paddy

There is no proposal to prevent corporates from buying paddy in the current season, Rajya Sabha was informed today. In a written reply to a question on whether government would advise corporates not to purchase the grain from farmers until Centre's procurement targets are achieved, Minister of State for Agriculture Kanti Lal Bhuria said, "There was no such proposal".

The rice procurement by government agencies for the central pool stood at 97.61 lakh tonnes as of December 6 in the current season compared to 105.2 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

To another question, Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution Akhilesh Prasad Singh said recent notification making stock declaration mandatory for private sector was aimed at increasing government's rice procurement.

Listing out steps taken by the government to maximise procurement of rice in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2007-08, Singh said a notification titled "Rice (Stock Declaration by Companies or Firms or Individuals) Order 2007," has been issued under the Essential Commodities Act on November 27.

He said the order provides for compulsory declaration of stocks on a weekly basis to state governments if any firm or individual procures more that 10,000 tonnes of rice this season and to the Centre if purchases exceed 25,000 tonnes.

In a separate reply, he said no targets are fixed for foodgrains procurement.

"However, based on estimates given by State Food Secretaries, the procurement of rice in KMS 2007-08 is estimated at 276 lakh tonnes," he said.