The Telangana Government has allotted 25 lakh tonnes of rabi paddy to 10 companies that submitted their bids in global tenders floated by it. With stocks from the previous rabi seasons piling up and occupying godowns, the State went for global tenders to clear stocks to make godowns free for kharif arrivals.

As many as 11 entities submitted 54 bids, with quotes ranging from ₹1,618 to ₹1,732 a quintal. After opening the financial bids, the government allotted 25 lots (each lot having one lakh tonnes) to the 10 successful bidders.

Though the Government has succeeded in clearing the stocks and making space for the upcoming kharif stocks, it, however, had to settle for returns less than what it spent to procure the paddy from farmers.

Also Read | Telangana procures 60 lakh tonnes of paddy in rabi season

The stocks, segregated district-wise, were offered on an as-is-where-is basis and were divided into six lots – five lots with four lakh tonnes each, and the sixth with five lakh tonnes. Held on the State’s e-tender platform, the bidders were required to have an annual turnover of ₹1,000 crore in the last three years.

A few days after the State announced the global tenders, the Union Government imposed restrictions on the export of parboiled rice too, raising doubts about whether the State would be able to go ahead with the auction or not. 

The State reportedly received the Centre’s nod for the tenders and went ahead with the process.   

Reason for pile-up

The rabi paddy, unlike the paddy grown in the kharif season, gives less amount of raw rice on milling. They would prefer to go for producing parboiled rice to minimise the percentage of broken rice. (The rabi grain turns brittle because of higher temperatures during the harvest time.)

Since the Centre made it clear that it would procure only raw rice, the State Government was left with no option but to float tenders to clear the mounting stocks.

Related Topics