Govt Warehouses Hold Huge Stock of 3-Year-Old Rice
29-Aug-2025 04:11 PM
New Delhi. On one hand, Food Corporation of India has a very huge stock of rice, on the other hand, the price of this important food grain in the international market has come down to the lowest level in the last several years. Traders say that there is a huge stock of rice more than three years old in government warehouses, in which the amount of raw (white) rice is much more than that of Sela rice.
The Food Corporation has a stock of 379.70 lakh tonnes of rice and 213.50 lakh tonnes of paddy (which is equivalent to 145 lakh tonnes of rice). This stock is a record level at this time.
According to official data, Food Corporation of India (FCI) had procured 684 lakh tonnes of paddy in the marketing season of 2022-23, 719 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 and 768.10 lakh tonnes of paddy in the season of 2024-25.
The rice produced from this was distributed and marketed under various schemes, but still a huge stock of it remained with the government.
In September 2022, the Food Corporation had a stock of 244.60 lakh tonnes of rice and 161.60 lakh tonnes of paddy. This stock of paddy was equivalent to about 108 lakh tonnes of rice.
Similarly, in September 2023, a stock of 232.80 lakh tonnes of rice and 160.70 lakh tonnes of paddy (equivalent to 108 lakh tonnes of rice) was available.
In September 2024, the quantity of rice was recorded as 323 lakh tonnes and the quantity of paddy was recorded as 148.20 lakh tonnes (equivalent to 99.20 lakh tonnes of rice).
A huge amount is spent on the storage and maintenance of rice present in government warehouses. A good stock of old rice is also available in these warehouses.
During the last season, the government procured paddy at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 23,000 per tonne, whereas the total economic cost of rice including the cost of processing (milling), storage and interest etc. reached Rs 35,000 per tonne. A huge cost is also being incurred on the storage of old rice.
This rice is being distributed free of cost to 81 crore beneficiaries under the public distribution system, while it is also being made available at subsidized prices under other schemes. This is putting a heavy burden on the government treasury. Its sale in the open market sale scheme is decreasing a lot.