Govt. rice procurement hits 55.8 mn tonne, wheat purchases at 26.2 mn tonne.

The government has procured 55.8 million tonne of rice in the 2022-23 marketing season so far benefiting a whopping 1.22 crore farmers, the ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution said in a statement. A staggering ₹1.7 trillion was spent in procuring rice from farmers at minimum support price (MSP).

Wheat procurement stands at 26.2 million tonne, surpassing last year’s total purchases of 18.8 million tonne. “With the current procurement of wheat and rice, adequate food grains stock in government granaries is maintained,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, a total of 83 million tonnes of paddy was procured up to June 19 of the current kharif marketing season (October-September). After milling, around 40.1 million tonne of rice has been received in the central pool so far, another 15 million tonne of rice is yet to be received, it said.

According to agriculture ministry’s third estimate, rice output for the 2022-23 crop year is projected at a record 135.54 million tonne, up from last year’s 129.47 million tonne in output.

In case of wheat, about 21.29 lakh farmers have benefited from procurement operations with MSP outflow of about ₹55,680 crore, it said.

Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have led procurement operations, with purchases at 12.12 million tonne, 7.09 million tonne, and 6.31 million tonne, respectively.

The ministry said the government has ensured that all arrangements are in place for hassle-free procurement operations.

This article has been republished from Livemint.com