Govt procures 9.81 mn tonnes of paddy at MSP for Rs 18,540 crore

State-owned FCI and state procurement agencies have bought 98.19 lakh tonnes of paddy till Monday for Rs 18,540 crore.

"Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is progressing at a fast pace in the procuring states/UTs of Punjab, Haryana, UP, TN, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, J&K and Kerala with purchase of over 98.19 lakh tonnes of paddy up to October 19 from 8.54 lakh farmers valuing Rs 18,539.86 crore at MSP (Minimum Support Price) rate of Rs 18,880 per tonne," an official statement said.

Paddy Procurement during corresponding period of Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2019-20 was 80.20 lakh tonnes.

Procurement in the current season exceeds 22.43 per cent than the previous season, it added.

Based on the proposal from the states, approval was accorded for procurement of 42.46 lakh tonnes of pulses and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme (PSS).

The sanctions for procurement of 1.23 lakh tonnes of copra for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were also given.

Till Monday, the government through its nodal agencies procured 806.11 tonnes of Moong and Urad having MSP value of Rs 5.80 crore benefitting 779 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana.

Similarly, 5,089 tonnes of copra having MSP value of Rs 52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3,961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Cotton procurement operations under MSP are going on smoothly in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan. Till Monday, a quantity of 200512 cotton bales valuing Rs 565.90 crore has been procured from 40,196 farmers, the statement said.