Indian rice procurement tops 48 lakh tonnes on early harvest
Rice procurement in India’s first half of October surged to over 48 lakh tonnes, worth ₹17,240 crore, driven by early harvests in Punjab and Haryana. Punjab procured 18.46 lakh tonnes, Haryana 23.08 lakh tonnes, and Tamil Nadu 5.95 lakh tonnes, all significantly higher than last year’s levels.
Rice procurement in the first fortnight of October has more than doubled to over 48 lakh tonnes (lt) worth ₹17,240 crore, which officials said was mainly due to early harvesting in Punjab and Haryana. The daily procurement was about 5 lt until October 16, which may jump substantially next month when purchases start picking up in other States.
The rice marketing season begins from October, and the procurement period varies from State to State depending on the cropping pattern . But, due to the early arrival of the paddy this year, the Centre allowed procuring agencies in Punjab and Haryana to begin purchase from mid-September.
Punjab, which has been the top rice contributor to the Central Pool stock, purchased 18.46 lt until October 16, which is over three times higher than 5.44 lt a year ago, and Haryana bought 54 per cent more rice at 23.08 lt against 15.03 lt a year ago, official data show. Purchase in Tamil Nadu more than doubled to 5.95 lt from 2.32 lt a year ago.
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Source : The Hindu Business line
