Surplus rice pushes Odisha to open mkt auction, 100K T to be sold this yr
Odisha is tackling surplus rice stocks by auctioning 100,000 tonnes in the open market and expanding welfare distribution. Under Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana Odisha, free grain allocation is doubled, helping ease storage pressure while strengthening food security for millions.
Faced with mounting surplus rice stocks following record procurement, the Odisha government decided to offload 100,000 tonnes of rice in the open market while expanding welfare distribution by providing additional free grains to PDS beneficiaries to ease pressure on granaries.
The state is currently saddled with a surplus of over two lakh tonnes of rice, despite the Centre enhancing its procurement target to 5.8 million tonnes for the 2024-25 kharif marketing season. Odisha had earlier achieved a historic high in paddy procurement, lifting 7.345 million tonnes during the kharif season and 1.918 million tonnes in rabi, translating into an estimated rice output of 6.337 million tonnes.
How much rice surplus does Odisha currently hold?
Of this, around 3 million tonnes has been utilised within the state under welfare schemes such as the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) and other social safety initiatives.
Data indicated that after 2.8 million tonnes was evacuated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the central pool, the state was left with a surplus rice of 537,000 tonnes. Although 226,000 tonnes was later absorbed through internal consumption and 109,000 tonnes distributed across 121 Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) blocks in the state, it has a balance surplus rice of 202,000 tonnes.
What steps has the Odisha government taken to manage surplus stocks?
The state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has recently approved auctioning one lakh tonne of rice in the open market to clear old stock before the new harvest arrives. The Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) has been designated as the nodal agency to carry out the auction in line with the pricing framework and operational guidelines of the FCI.
Officials said the move is aimed at preventing storage constraints, minimising the risk of deterioration and ensuring liquidity in the system. The state government has also committed to bearing any financial losses arising from the auction process.
How is Odisha expanding its welfare distribution?
The state government has also significantly expanded its welfare outreach, which is widely seen as a measure to accelerate stock liquidation. It has been decided to distribute an additional 5 kg of rice per person per month free of cost to beneficiaries under NFSA and SFSS, effectively doubling the entitlement to 10 kg per person when combined with existing quotas.
This food security net will be expanded through the newly approved Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana (MAPY), one of the largest state-funded food security interventions in recent years. As reported by Business Standard, the scheme will cover over 32.8 million beneficiaries – spanning more than 10.09 million families under the public distribution system.
The scale of the programme is significant not just in welfare terms but also in fiscal commitment. The state is expected to incur an annual expenditure of about Rs 8,813 crore, translating to roughly Rs 734 crore per month, entirely funded from its own budget. Officials estimated that the scheme will require the distribution of nearly 164,000 tonnes of rice every month, creating a steady off-take channel for surplus stocks.
To Read more about Rice News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Business Standard
