Paddy Procurement Crosses 56 Lakh Tonnes, 6% More Than Last Year

The paddy procurement by government agencies during the current kharif marketing season (KMS) has crossed 56 lakh tonnes, 6% higher than last year during the corresponding period. The procurement is set to increase by this month end, sources said.
In terms of rice, the current procurement of paddy will result in the government getting approximately 37.6 lakh tonnes of rice. Officials said they are confident of the government achieving the target of 521 lakh tonnes of rice grown during the kharif season. The paddy procurement has commenced in eight states and UTs. Haryana has procured a maximum of 33 lakh tonnes, followed by Punjab (19.7 lakh tonnes) and Tamil Nadu (2.8 lakh tonnes).

The government data show during the same period last year around 52.9 lakh tonnes of paddy equivalent to 35.5 lakh tonnes of rice was procured by the government agencies across the country.
So far 3.74 lakh farmers have got the benefit of procurement of paddy at the minimum support price and at least Rs 9,500 crore has been paid to farmers, according to government data.
The Times of India