The government procurement of rice has seen a decrease in key rice-producing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand during the 2024-25 Kharif marketing season.

As of December 3, 2024, the total rice procurement at the national level stood at 200.77 lakh tonnes, which is about 2.4% lower than last year's procurement of 205.75 lakh tonnes in the same period.

While there has been an increase in rice procurement in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh, a decline was observed in the major rice-producing states.

For example, in Punjab, the procurement decreased from 124.25 lakh tonnes to 115.53 lakh tonnes, in Haryana from 39.49 lakh tonnes to 35.99 lakh tonnes, in Tamil Nadu from 3.70 lakh tonnes to 3.46 lakh tonnes, and in Uttarakhand from 4.05 lakh tonnes to 3.30 lakh tonnes.

In contrast, states like Andhra Pradesh saw a sharp increase in procurement, from 1.42 lakh tonnes to 3.97 lakh tonnes, while Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh also reported gains.

In Punjab and Haryana, the procurement process has essentially ended. The total paddy purchased in both states combined was 151.52 lakh tonnes, a decrease of 7.4% from the previous year's 163.63 lakh tonnes.

The government had set an ambitious procurement target of 164 lakh tonnes for these states, but the deadline for procurement in Haryana was set for November 15 and in Punjab for November 30, with no extension currently planned.

Nationally, the target for Kharif rice procurement in the Central Pool for 2024-25 is 492.11 lakh tonnes, which is lower than the previous year's target of 521.27 lakh tonnes.

For the entire 2023-24 marketing season, including both Kharif and Rabi crops, the government procured 525.37 lakh tonnes, while the procurement in 2022-23 was 569.40 lakh tonnes.