Paddy Procurement Up by 12 % to 170.53 Lakh Tonnes till October: Food Ministry

From October onward, paddy procurement typically starts as soon as the Southwest monsoon leaves. However, it starts in September in southern states, particularly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the kharif marketing season of 2022–2023, the government plans to purchase 771.25 lakh tonnes of paddy (October-September). The actual procurement during the most recent kharif marketing season was a record 759.32 lakh tonnes.

Official data show that overall paddy purchases increased from 152.57 lakh tonnes in the same period last year to 170.53 lakh tonnes as of October 31 for the 2022–23 Kharif marketing season. Approximately 107.24 lakh tonnes of paddy have been purchased from Punjab out of the total, compared to 99.12 lakh tonnes during the same time last year. 52.26 lakh tonnes were purchased from Haryana, compared to 48.27 lakh tonnes during the same time last year.

The data showed that compared to the same period last year, paddy procurement in Uttar Pradesh was lower this Kharif marketing season, totaling 33,668 tonnes through the end of October. At 2.46 lakh tonnes as opposed to 2.35 lakh tonnes, the procurement in Uttarakhand remained slightly higher. In Jammu and Kashmir, the amount purchased increased from 6,756 tonnes in the same period last year to 11,170 tonnes this year. 

However, the paddy procurement in Himachal Pradesh has been slightly lower this season, at 6,111 tonnes through October, as compared to 7,374 tonnes during the same period last year. According to the data, approximately 7.90 lakh tonnes of paddy have been purchased in Tamil Nadu through the end of October of this Kharif marketing season, compared to 1.77 lakh tonnes during the same period last year. Paddy purchases in Kerala have decreased from 5,203 tonnes at this time last year to 4,159 tonnes as of the end of October.

Both private companies and the government-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchase paddy. The paddy is purchased directly from the farmers at the minimum support price and used to satisfy demand under various welfare programmes. Both the Kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) seasons are used to grow paddy. But the Kharif season accounts for 80% of the nation's total paddy production.

The country's paddy production is predicted to fall by 6% to 104.99 million tonnes in the 2022–23 kharif season as a result of decreased paddy acreage following poor rains in important producing states, particularly in Jharkhand. This prediction comes from the agriculture ministry's first estimate.