Govt’s paddy procurement up 9% at 306 lakh tonnes so far

NEW DELHI: The government’s paddy procurement for the central pool rose over 9% to 306.06 lakh tonnes so far in the ongoing 2022-23 kharif marketing season, according to the food ministry data.

Higher quantities of paddy were purchased from Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Normally, paddy procurement begins immediately after the withdrawal of the Southwest monsoon from October onwards. However in southern states, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it begins from September.

The government aims to procure 775.72 lakh tonnes of paddy in the 2022- 23 kharif marketing season (October-September). The actual procurement stood at record 759.32 lakh tonnes in the previous kharif marketing season.

According to the official data, the total paddy purchase has increased to 306.06 lakh tonnes till November 27 of the 2022-23 kharif marketing season from 280.51 lakh tonnes in the yearago period.

While the paddy procurement in Punjab showed a decline of 2.76% to 181.62 lakh tonnes so far this marketing year from 186.79 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, the buying of the grain in neighbouring Haryana remained higher by 8.18% at 58.96 lakh tonnes as against 54.50 lakh tonnes during the comparable period.

In Chhattisgarh, the paddy procurement has already reached 16.88 lakh tonnes so far this year, while it had not started in the same period corresponding year, the data showed.

In Telangana, the paddy procurement remained higher at 16.18 lakh tonnes so far this year as against 10.94 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Similarly in Uttar Pradesh, procurement rose to 10.28 lakh tonnes paddy from 9.20 lakh tonnes in the said period.

The paddy procurement is undertaken by both stateowned Food Corporation of India (FCI) and private agencies. The paddy is procured at the minimum support price directly from the farmers and is utilised for meeting the demand under several welfare schemes.

Paddy is grown in both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) seasons. But 80% of the country’s total paddy production comes from the kharif season.

According to the first estimate of the agriculture ministry, the country’s paddy production is estimated to decline 6% to 104.99 million tonnes in the 2022-23 kharif season due to decrease in paddy acreage in the wake of poor rains in key producing states, especially in Jharkhand.