During the first month of the current procurement season (October–September), rice procurement climbed by 12% to 114.33 lakh tonnes (lt), owing to Punjab and Haryana. Compared to the same time last year, grain purchases are up 8% in these two States. Purchases fell by 60% to 22,557 tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, the state with the highest paddy production during the Kharif season. Even though the Center predicted it would most certainly fall short of its 40 lt procurement goal in Uttar Pradesh, the State’s meager contribution to the national procurement might still have an impact because a significant decrease is unlikely to be made up for by other States. In contrast to the procurement of 510 lt in 2021–2022, the target for Kharif-grown rice procurement for the current season has been set at 518 lt.
The procurement in Punjab reached 71.8 lt through October 31, up from 66.3 a year ago, according to the most recent figures. According to sources, the Punjabi government has promised to meet the Centre’s 125 lt objective. While Haryana’s goal is to purchase 37 lt of rice for the Central pool, it has seen rice procurement exceed 35 lt as opposed to 32.3 lt.On October 1st, both States started buying paddy. November 15 is the anticipated end date in Haryana and November 30 in Punjab. Beginning on Tuesday, the official buying process began in Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal (November 1). The procurement process also started on Tuesday and will last till February in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.
“Uttar Pradesh gave the Central pool roughly 44 lt last year. The yield has been impacted, and the output may possibly be lower, as a result of a drought-like condition that existed in various districts throughout the transplantation period. The season is just getting started, and if necessary, the procurement time may be extended. It will be challenging to equal last year’s 510 lt level, thus the deficit must be kept to within 30% (or 12–13 lt), according to a procurement source. The area covered by paddy fell by 2.2 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh as a result of a severe rainfall shortfall during the first three months of the monsoon season.
The State is expected to produce 124.8 lt for the 2022–2023 Kharif season, down from 152 in the previous year. Due to the fact that rice purchases began a month earlier on September 1 and will continue through March 31, Tamil Nadu’s procurement has increased more than four times, or 5.38 lt, until October 31. Experts say the purchase of rice is important since any supply of rice under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for the following year will depend on the purchase of rice for the current season. The administration has already made the decision to provide food grains to individuals who fall below the poverty line at no cost for nine months during FY 2022–23.
