Government procurement of rice in several states, including Orissa, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, has been slower compared to last year during the current Kharif marketing season. Here’s a summary of the situation in these states:
Orissa:
- The state government is purchasing paddy from farmers at Rs 3100 per quintal, with the Central Government’s Minimum Support Price (MSP) set at Rs 2300 per quintal for general quality and Rs 2325 for 'A' grade paddy. The remaining amount above the MSP is being provided as a bonus by the state government.
- As of December 31, 7.87 lakh tonnes of rice (equivalent to paddy) have been procured, which is a 12% decrease compared to the 8.93 lakh tonnes procured by the same date last year.
- However, the pace of procurement is expected to increase in the coming days.
West Bengal:
- Procurement in West Bengal has been very slow, with only 5 thousand tonnes of rice (equivalent to paddy) bought by December 31, compared to 3.44 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
- Experts suggest that last year, paddy harvesting started early, allowing more supply to reach mandis by the end of December, which is not the case this year.
Tamil Nadu:
- In Tamil Nadu, the government began procurement on 1 September 2024, but by December 31, only 3.63 lakh tonnes of rice had been procured, which is slightly less than the 3.71 lakh tonnes procured by the same date in 2023.
Despite the slow procurement rates in these states, the Central Government estimates a record rice production of 1199.30 lakh tonnes for the 2024-25 Kharif season, reflecting a 6% increase compared to the 1132.60 lakh tonnes produced in the 2023-24 season.