Government procures 350.38 lakh tonn rice in 2017-18 season so far

NEW DELHI: The government has procured 350.28 lakh tonnes of rice in the current marketing season so far, according to official data.

The rice procurement target for the current season (October-September) has been fixed at 375 lakh tonnes. In the previous year, total rice procurement had surpassed the target at 381.06 lakh tonnes.

Procurement is undertaken by state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies for the central pool to meet the requirement of food security law. Rice is purchased at the minimum support price (MSP).

According to the FCI's latest data, rice purchase in Punjab has reached 176.61 lakh tonnes in October-December of this season. The state has already surpassed its target of 115 lakh tonnes.

In Haryana, rice procurement has reached 59.20 lakh tonnes, exceeding the target of 30 lakh tonnes given for the entire season.

Rice purchase in Chhattisgarh has reached 33.32 lakh tonnes so far, while the target is 48 lakh tonnes for the season.

In Uttar Pradesh, 25.96 lakh tonnes of rice has been procured in October-December period of the current season against the total target of 37 lakh tonnes.

In Andhra Pradesh, 13.92 lakh tonnes has been procured, while 9.91 lakh tonnes in Odisha so far this season.

Procurement in West Bengal and other rice growing states is still underway.

For the 2017-18 season, the government has fixed paddy MSP of 'common' grade variety at Rs 1,550 per quintal, while that of 'A' grade variety at Rs 1,590 per quintal.

In the kharif season of 2017-18 crop year (July-June), rice production is estimated to be 944.8 lakh tonnes, as against 963.9 lakh tonnes in the previous year.