Bonus on cards for rice procurement

The government is expected to announce a bonus in the range of Rs 40-70 per quintal for paddy procurement.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is scheduled to meet tomorrow (Friday) and it will take a decision on the bonus for paddy. Though the proposal is to announce a bonus of Rs 40 per quintal, we are suggesting that it should be Rs 70 so that more paddy is procured," said a food ministry official.

In the 2006-07 kharif marketing season (October-September), a bonus of Rs 40 per quintal was announced. However, rice procurement fell by about 9 per cent to 25.1 million tonnes compared with 27.6 million tonnes in 2005-06.

For the current season, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the central government's foodgrain procurement and distribution agency, has set a tentative target of 27.6 million tonnes. The procured rice is used for distribution under the various welfare schemes run by the central government.

For the 2007-08 marketing season, the minimum support price (MSP) of common paddy has been fixed at Rs 645 per quintal, up Rs 25 from last year, while the MSP for Grade A paddy has been fixed at Rs 675 per quintal, up Rs 25 from the previous year.

The procurement of paddy in the current season has already started and the FCI along with state government agencies have so far procured 1.7 million tonnes. This is about 22 per cent less than the last year's corresponding purchase of 2.2 million tonnes.

The daily arrival of paddy is about 2 lakh tonnes at present. "However, once the bonus is declared, we expect the arrivals to increase," the official added.

According to the fourth advance estimates announced by the Ministry of Agriculture in September, the country's rice production in 2007-08 is seen at 80.15 million tonnes, marginally up from last year's 80.11 million tonnes.

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GRAIN GAINS

The government is expected to announce a bonus in the range of Rs 40-70 per quintal for paddy procurement

In the 2006-07 kharif marketing season (October-September), a bonus of Rs 40 per quintal was announced

For the current season, the FCI has set a tentative target of 27.6 million tonnes