The Centre has procured 68 per cent, as of December 31, of the targeted 521 lakh tonnes (lt) of rice to be procured through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other government agencies during October-March this crop year to June. The Centre may have to procure additional quantities in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha to offset an expected shortfall in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

Amid depleting stock of rice in Central Pool and drought in some States, achieving the target is important for the Government to continue its grains distribution for various welfare programmes and under the National Food Security Act. The development is important in view of fears raised over foodgrain stocks in the country. Rice stock in the Central Pool was 115.42 lt as of December 1, 2022 against 213.03 lt year-ago.

Up in Haryana, down in Punjab

Rice procurement has reached 355.9 lt until December 31 in the ongoing marketing season that began on October 1. This is is 11 per cent higher than 320.7 lt during the year-ago period, the latest official data show. As many as 63.9 lakh farmers have got the benefit of selling at minimum support price (MSP). Procurement in Punjab and Haryana have been completed with 121.9 lt and 39.5 lt, respectively. While the purchase in Punjab is lower by 3.3 lt (down by 2.6 per cent), it is 3 lt more (up by 8.2 per cent) in Haryana.

Procurement in Tamil Nadu was nil during December against 1.2 lt a year ago and 82 per cent lower in November whereas it was over four times higher in October from the year-ago period. The target in Tamil Nadu is 19.9 lt from the kharif-grown rice and it is 22 per cent more at 5.8 lt until December 31.

“In the current season, paddy faced an unprecedented moisture problem in Tamil Nadu. It impacted public procurement in the last two months. Also because the demand for paddy was higher from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh private traders, farmers preferred to sell them in view of higher price and less quality problems,” said trade policy expert S Chandrasekaran. The delta districts had excessive and continuous rainfall, he added.

UP scenario

Mandi prices of paddy in Tamil Nadu have increased to ₹2,028/quintal currently from an average of ₹1,909 in October whereas the minimum support price (MSP) is ₹2,060/quintal for Grade A variety. The bulk of government purchase (over 85 per cent) are Grade A variety of paddy.

In Uttar Pradesh, 27.6 lt have been procured against 28.3 lt a year ago, down by 2.5 per cent. However, the absolute fall has widened to 30,000 tonnes in December from about 11,000 tonnes in October. Traders said procurement in the western region will drop further while eastern parts may match last year’s level. The target in UP has been fixed at 40 lt of rice and procurement will continue until January 31 in the western region and up to February 28 in the eastern parts.

In Telangana, the procurement has lagged behind by 7.2 per cent at 37.4 lt until December 31 against 40.3 lt a year ago and nearly 75 per cent of the kharif target has been purchased. Officials said procurement in Telangana has slowed down and it registered a 28 per cent decline in December, whereas there was a 49 per cent jump in November. As procurement will end this month, it is unlikely to see any major improvement, officials said adding that a 2-3 lt shortfall against the target of 50 lt is likely.

Rise in other purchases

Bihar is another State where procurement, though up so far, may not able to achieve target of 30 lt this year due to drought. The current procurement, started in November and to continue until March, is at par with 8.5 lt of year-ago level.

On the other hand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh reported 3 per cent, 62 per cent and 65 per cent jump in procurement during December. Chhattisgarh has reported a 48 per cent increase this season at 52.6 lt so far, mainly due to the purchase being advanced by a month. A relaxation by the Centre to allow purchase beyond the 61 lt target may help the State to contribute 70-75 lt to Central Pool, sources said.

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