Rice procurement estimated at 495.37 lakh tonnes in Kharif season of 2020-21

The food ministry on September 14 said the rice procurement is estimated at 495.37 lakh tonnes in the kharif season of 2020-21 marketing year.

The secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Sudhanshu Pandey, chaired a meeting of state food secretaries through video conference on September 11 to discuss the procurement arrangements for ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21.

Paddy is mainly grown in Kharif (summer sown) season. "Around 495.37 lakh tonnes rice has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming KMS 2020-21 season which is 19.07 percent more than the 416 lakh tonnes procurement estimate of KMS 2019-20," an official statement said.

During ensuing KMS 2020-21, procurement estimates for Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have jumped by 100 percent and more, and for Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Jharkhand are higher by 50 percent and more in comparison to KMS 2019-20.

The leading states in terms of estimated procurement of rice are Punjab (113 lakh tonnes), Chhattisgarh (60 lakh tonnes) and Telangana (50 lakh tonnes) followed by Haryana (44 lakh tonnes), Andhra Pradesh (40 lakh tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (37 lakh tonnes) and Odisha (37 lakh tonnes).

In view of COVID-19, states have been requested to take necessary steps to ensure social distancing during procurement operations. Other issues of states regarding food subsidy were also discussed during the meeting.