Rice procurement has increased 12 per cent to 11.433 million tonnes (mt) during the first month of the current procurement season (October-September), thanks to Punjab and Haryana. The grain’s purchase is up by 8 per cent in these two States compared with the year-ago period. Uttar Pradesh, the biggest grower of paddy in the kharif season, has seen purchases slide by 60 per cent to 22,557 tonnes.
Though the Centre said it will likely miss the 4 mt procurement target in Uttar Pradesh, the meagre purchase from the State could potentially drag the pan-India procurement down as any steep fall is unlikely to be offset by other States. The target of kharif-grown rice procurement has been fixed at 51.8 mt for the current season against the procurement of 51 mt in 2021-22.
Haryana near target
According to the latest available data, the procurement in Punjab reached 7.18 mt until October 31, up from 6.63 mt a year ago. The Punjab government has assured the Centre that its target of 12.5 mt will be achieved, sources said. Haryana has seen rice procurement reaching 3.5 mt against 3.23 mt whereas its target is to buy 3.7 mt for the Central pool.
Procurement of paddy began on October 1 in both States. It is scheduled to end on November 15 in Haryana and November 30 in Punjab. The official purchase in Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal started on Tuesday (November 1). The procurement in the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh, too, began on Tuesday and will continue through February.
“Uttar Pradesh contributed nearly 4.4 mt to the Central pool last year. Due to a drought-like condition in several districts during the transplantation period, the yield has been affected and the output may also be lower. It is just the beginning of the season and if the situation warrants the procurement period can be extended. But the deficit needs to be contained within 30 per cent (or 1.2-1.3 mt), otherwise, it will be difficult to match last year’s 51 mt level,” said a source involved in procurement.
Problems in UP
Uttar Pradesh faced a severe rainfall deficit during the first three months of the monsoon season and ended up with the area under paddy being lower by 0.22 million hectares. Production in the State has been pegged at 12.48 mt for the 2022-23 kharif season, down from 15.2 mt year-ago. The Food Ministry last month said paddy procurement across the country would be normal, except for Uttar Pradesh.
The procurement in Tamil Nadu has surged over four times at 0.538 mt until October 31 as rice purchases started a month earlier from September 1 and will continue until March 31. The State has set a target to buy 2 mt of rice from the kharif season, same as last year.
According to experts, the rice procurement is significant as any release of rice under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) next year will depend on the current season’s purchase. The government has already decided to distribute free-of-cost food grains to those below poverty line ,for nine months in FY 2022-23.
Source: the Hindu business line
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