NEW DELHI: Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies of Punjab have procured 120.67 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy in a total of 126.67 LMT of paddy arrived in the mandis of Punjab, an official release said.
The paddy is being purchased at MSP at Rs 2320 per quintal as decided by the Government of India for Grade ‘A’ paddy and the total paddy purchased by the Government to date in the ongoing KMS 2024-25, amounts to Rs 27995 crore benefitting around 6.58 lakh farmers, in Punjab.
Further, 4839 millers have applied for shelling of paddy and 4743 Millers have already been allotted work by Punjab State Government.
The Procurement of Paddy for KMS 2024-25 has commenced in Punjab from October 1 this year and 2927 designated mandis and temporary yards are operational throughout the State for smooth procurement from the farmers of Punjab.
Central Government has fixed an estimated target of 185 LMT for Paddy Procurement for the ongoing KMS 2024-25 which shall continue upto November 30.
The paddy lifting from the mandis is in full swing and the paddy lifting is more than the daily arrival quantity. As such paddy procurement is going on smoothly, as per the official release.
The paddy procurement is in full swing in the Punjab and Haryana which are known as the Food Bowl of India. According to the official estimate, like every year 185 LMT and 60 LMT of paddy are estimated to be procured from these two states respectively during Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2024-25.
Punjab and Haryana account for almost 40 per cent of Central Pool procurement. The procurement operations are ongoing and in full swing in both States. The procurement in both the states was delayed due to heavy rainfall in September and the resultant higher moisture content in paddy, the harvesting and procurement were delayed.
However, despite a late start, both states are well on track to achieve the estimates of paddy procurement by stipulated dates i.e November 30th 2024 for Punjab and November 15th for Haryana. (ANI)