The Hindu Business Line : Rice procurement to touch 225 lakh t

THE Centre expects procurement of rice during the forthcoming 2004-05 kharif marketing season (October-September) to touch 225 lakh tonnes (lt), despite acreage under paddy falling this year.

The 225-lt preliminary estimate was made at a meeting of State Food Secretaries and senior officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), held under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Mr S.K. Tuteja, here on Wednesday.

During the ongoing 2003-04 season, rice procurement for the Central pool has hit an all-time high of 225.77 ltas on August 16, with the bulk being contributed by Punjab (86.58 lt), Andhra Pradesh (41.80 lt), Uttar Pradesh (25.53 lt), Haryana (13.34 lt) and West Bengal (9.20 lt). The high procurement has been made possible mainly because of the country's rice production recovering to 870 lt in 2003-04, from 726.60 lt in the preceding drought-impacted year.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the area coverage under paddy reported so far this year, at 259.76 lakh hectares, is below the progressive acreage of 272.51 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year. But despite the lower area, the Centre expects rice procurement in the coming season to more or less equal the current season's level. For the 2004-05 marketing season, the minimum support prices for common and Grade `A' paddy have been fixed at Rs 560 and Rs 590 a quintal, respectively, as against their corresponding previous year's levels of Rs 550 and Rs 580 a quintal.