Government procurement of paddy in Punjab reaches above 120 lakh tonnes Chandigarh
09-Nov-2024 02:59 PM
Government procurement of paddy has now gained momentum in Punjab, the state which contributes the most food grains to the central pool, whereas it was lagging behind in October. According to official figures, during the current Kharif marketing season from October 1 to November 8, a total of 126.67 lakh tonnes of paddy arrived in the mandis of Punjab, out of which 120.67 lakh tonnes were procured by government agencies. Its value was Rs 27,995 crore and it benefited 6.58 lakh farmers. Government procurement of paddy will continue till November 30, 2024.
The government has fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy for the current Kharif marketing season of 2024-25 at Rs 2300 per quintal for general category and Rs 2320 per quintal for 'A' grade, while the target of procurement of 184 lakh tonnes of paddy (equivalent to 124 lakh tonnes of rice) has been set in Punjab like last year. There has been a huge increase in the procurement of paddy there during the last few days. In Punjab, 4839 millers have applied for paddy threshing (rolling) and out of this, 4743 millers have already been allotted work by the state government. This time 2927 procurement centers have been opened for the procurement of paddy in Punjab where farmers are reaching with their produce in huge quantities. The quality of paddy is good and the share of wheat in it has been within the approved limit, hence there is no difficulty in procurement.
The lifting of paddy purchased by government agencies is also going on in full swing in various mandis, due to which the problem of space constraints is gradually getting resolved. In many mandis, paddy is being lifted in excess of the daily arrival quantity. This is helping in keeping the procurement process organized and uninterrupted. The Union Food Minister has said that every grain of paddy reaching the procurement centres in Punjab will be purchased and the farmers will be paid its price on time.