Government Procurement of Rice Increases by 46 Percent
04-Nov-2025 11:32 AM
New Delhi. The central agency, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), and its affiliated state agencies are aggressively procuring paddy from farmers in major rice-producing states at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
According to available data, more than 11.9 million tons of rice (paddy equivalent) were procured for the central pool by the end of October 2025, representing a 46 percent increase over the 8.185 million tons procured during the same period last year.
According to available data, government rice procurement during the second half of October, from October 16 to 31, 2025, surpassed 7 million tons, compared to approximately 6 million tons during the same period last year. However, 4.847 million tons of rice were procured in the first fortnight of October.
This clearly indicates that government rice procurement is now rapidly increasing. It is important to note that paddy is actually being purchased from farmers and the figures are being converted into rice based on a 67 percent milling rate.
According to official sources, paddy harvesting began early this year in Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and some other states, leading to a large inflow of paddy at government procurement centers.
Consequently, the pace of procurement has accelerated. Although severe floods in Punjab and Haryana had led to fears that paddy harvesting would be delayed due to waterlogging in the fields, harvesting began early in areas where the floods were less severe.
Generally, government procurement of new paddy in Punjab and Haryana begins on October 1st, but this time, due to the early arrival of the crop, the procurement process was allowed to begin in mid-September.
According to available data, as of October 31st this year, government rice procurement in Punjab increased by 49 percent from 46.62 lakh tons to 69.39 lakh tons, and in Haryana by nearly 23 percent from 31.06 lakh tons to 38.12 lakh tons, compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, in the far southern state of Tamil Nadu, government procurement of paddy began on September 1st. Rice procurement there more than doubled from 2.89 lakh tons to 7.51 lakh tons this time.
In other states of the country, paddy equivalent to 4.05 lakh tons of rice was purchased. Of these, 2.89 lakh tons were purchased in Uttarakhand, 61,701 tons in Uttar Pradesh, and 27,157 tons in Telangana for the central pool.