Rice procurement in 2012-13 marginally more than last year

India annually procures around 35-38 mn tonnes of rice for the central pool to distribute it at rates for the PDS

India’s state agencies and Food Corporation of India (FCI) have together procured around 26.18 million tonnes of rice in the 2012-13 procurement season that started from October till December 05, almost 4.28% more than the same period  last year.

However, the data showed that procurement in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal all big rice producing states is either less than last year or just marginally more.

Overall, across the country of the 46 million tonnes of paddy that has arrived in the mandis, almost 26.26 million tonnes have been procured by the government.

India annually procures around 35-38 million tonnes of rice for the central pool to distribute it at cheap rates for the Public Distribution System (PDS).

In 2012-2013, the government has targeted to procure around 40.1 million tonnes of rice for the central pool, around 15%  higher than the actual procurement of 2011-2012.

 

As on februrary 1, 2012, the government has around 66.31 million tonnes of foodgrains in the central pool which included wheat and rice, while the storage space available with it was around 71.4 million tonnes, which also included covered area plinth and storages with state governments.