Rice procurement up 7% in Oct-Dec as 72% of kharif target is completed
India’s rice procurement rose 7% in October–December 2025, reaching 333.72 lakh tonnes—72% of the annual target. Despite lower purchases in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, increased procurement in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana boosted totals. Early crop arrivals also enabled states to begin procurement ahead of schedule.
India’s rice procurement is up 7 per cent in the first three months of the current kharif marketing season with 72 per cent of the target being met till now. However, the official purchase in three major contributing states Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Odisha has dropped. But there has been an unexpected rise in procurement of the cereal in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, besides a substantial jump in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This has helped the Centre to procure more rice.
Total procurement of rice reached 333.72 lakh tonnes (lt) during October-December 2025 from 312.60 lt in the corresponding period last year. The government has set a target to buy 463.49 lt of rice from the kharif-grown crop in 2025-26 season. The pan-India actual rice procurement in the entire 2024-25 was 545.22 lt.
Rice marketing season begins from October and the procurement period varies from State to State depending on the cropping pattern followed in each State. Due to early arrival of the paddy this year, the Centre allowed procuring agencies in Punjab and Haryana to begin purchase from mid-September and in Tamil Nadu from September 1.
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Source : The Hindu Business line
