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Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024

MUMBAI – The government's paddy procurement in Punjab and Haryana so far during the kharif marketing year 2024-25 that started this month is lower than last year. This is mainly due to delay in harvesting of the standing paddy crop in both the states, which are considered food bowls of the country.

Paddy procurement in Punjab was down 20% on year at 6.7 million tonnes as of Tuesday, the consumer affairs, food and public distribution department said in a release Wednesday. In Haryana, 4.5 million tonnes of paddy was procured till Tuesday, against 5.2 million tonnes procured during the same period last year, according to the release.

Though the procurement of paddy commenced on Oct. 1 in Punjab and on Sept. 27 in Haryana, "due to heavy rainfall in September and the resultant higher moisture content in paddy, the harvesting and procurement were delayed," the release said.

Despite a late start, the government aims to meet its paddy procurement target in both the states. Procurement in both the states is "well on track to achieve the estimates of paddy procurement by stipulated dates, which are Nov. 30 for Punjab and Nov. 15 for Haryana," according to the release.

The Centre has set ambitious targets for paddy procurement in Punjab and Haryana at 18.5 million tonnes and 6.0 million tonnes, respectively, according to the release. These two states account for almost 40% of the central pool procurement. "The procurement operations are ongoing in full swing in both the States," the release said.

Every day, on an average, around 400,000 tonnes of paddy is being bought from Punjab markets which "indicates that the remaining estimate of 11.8 million tonnes of paddy will be smoothly achieved by Nov. 30," the release said. Similarly, the government is procuring an average of 150,000 tonnes of paddy every day in Haryana, by which it will be able to reach its target for the state by Nov. 15.

As of Tuesday, INR 132.1 billion has been released to 350,961 farmers in Punjab and INR 105.3 billion has been released to 275,261 farmers in Haryana for the paddy bought by the government from the farmers. "The amount is being credited to the bank accounts of the farmers through DBT (direct benefit transfer) within 48 hours of procurement," the release said.

For 2024-25 (Oct-Sept), the government has set the minimum support price for the common paddy variety at INR 2,300 per 100 kg, up INR 117 from a year ago. The minimum support price for the grade A variety was set at INR 2,320 per 100 kg, up from INR 2,203 a year ago.

Out of 4,400 millers who applied for delivery of custom milled rice, work has been allotted to 3,850 millers by the state government of Punjab by Oct. 29. In Haryana, 1,452 millers applied for delivery of custom milled rice and work has been allotted to 1,319 millers by the state government, according to the release.  End

Reported by J. Navya Sruthi

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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