Govt sets 46.35 MT rice procurement target for 2025-26

By Sandip Das

The government on Monday fixed a rice procurement target of 46.35 million tonnes (MT) for the kharif marketing season 2025-26 (October–September), marginally lower than the purchase of 47.38 MT of grain in the ongoing 2024-25 season.

The target for the next procurement season was set after a meeting of state food secretaries and officials of the food ministry.

In the current 2024-25 season, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies have purchased 54.49 MT — 47.38 MT (kharif) and 7.1 MT (rabi) — of rice equivalent to paddy from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP).

In 2023-24, the agencies had bought 52.44 MT of rice — 46.65 MT (kharif) and 5.78 MT (rabi).

High stocks, shifting focus to millets

Paddy procurement is largely carried out from surplus grain-producing states, including Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. This year’s kharif paddy sowing has been higher than last year due to surplus monsoon rains.

While paddy purchases start in Punjab, Haryana and other northern states on October 1, MSP operations begin in eastern and southern states in December.

To promote crop diversification, the food ministry urged states to focus on procuring 1.91 MT of millets or coarse cereals in 2025-26.

According to sources, the central pool rice stock is over 53 MT, more than four times the buffer norm of 10.25 MT for October 1. Officials said this stock includes over 14 MT of grain yet to be received from millers.

Balancing procurement and distribution

High rice stocks are attributed to the FCI and state agencies procuring 52–53 MT annually from farmers under MSP in recent years, while supplying around 36–38 MT for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) free ration scheme.

In May, the Cabinet approved a 3% increase in the MSP of paddy to ₹2,369/quintal for the 2025-26 kharif season (July–June), compared to the previous year.

After procurement by the FCI and state agencies, paddy is handed over to millers for conversion into rice. The paddy-to-rice conversion ratio is 67%.

“Actual rice arrivals in the next season would start arriving by December after commencement of procurement from October 1,” an official said.

This article has been republished from The Financial Express.