Rice procurement in the first two months of the 2022-23 season (October-September) increased by 12.2 per cent to 218.73 lakh tonnes (lt) compared with the year-ago period. Purchases in November were 11.73 lt higher than the year-ago level, thanks to 15.91 lt procured in Chhattisgarh with purchases beginning a month earlier than the original schedule.

According to the latest official data, rice procurement in Punjab was 121.91 lt during October-November, down by 2.6 per cent from 125.19 lt a year ago. In Haryana, the procurement was 8.2 per cent higher at 39.51 lt from 36.52 lt.

The procurement period in both States is over now. Rice purchases in Uttar Pradesh were 5.4 per cent lower at 7.88 lt from 8.33 lt, data show. In the eastern region of UP, rice procurement was nearly 50,000 tonnes more during October-November whereas in the western region it was lower by nearly 1 lt.

4.5% pan-India drop

“Procurement in Chhattisgarh was earlier scheduled to begin from December 1, but the government decided to start the purchases from November 1, since fresh paddy was available and there was also an expectation of a decline in a few States,” said an official source.

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He pointed out that whatever volume in Chhattisgarh has been recorded in November was additional quantity as there was no purchase during the year-ago period.

If the quantity in Chhattisgarh is excluded, there will be 4.5 per cent drop in pan-India rice procurement during November, the official said. He cited the example of Tamil Nadu where the procurement also started from September 1 against normal October 1.

During September-October, rice purchases were up 344.7 per cent and during November they dropped by 82 per cent, while overall procurement in the State until November 30 was 61.8 per cent higher.

Official data show that the all-India procurement of rice during the first month of the current season was 11.8 per cent higher from a year ago and in November it increased by 12.7 per cent.

In Punjab, the procurement was 8 per cent higher in October but declined by 15 per cent during November. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh recorded a 60 per cent decline in October and only 1.5 per cent in November.

Lower area

The lower paddy acreage along with deficit rainfall has led to the government cutting the 2022 kharif production estimate of rice to 104.99 million tonnes (mt) from 111.76 mt in the year-ago period.

The Food Ministry is hopeful of procuring 51.8 mt of rice in the current season from kharif crop, against 51 mt in the year-ago period.

Except for Karnataka, Tripura and Puducherry, rice procurement is in operation in all States and union territories and the kharif-grown crop will be purchased upto March 31.

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