Paddy Procurement Exceeds the Previous Year’s Purchase at 20,993 Metric Tons

Himachal Pradesh’s paddy procurement has topped last year’s acquisition to reach 20,993 metric tons this year, authorities announced on November 25. 

In contrast to the acquisition of 14,000 metric tonnes of paddy last year (2022), authorities indicated that in the current year (2023), around 20,993 metric tonnes of paddy had been acquired from 3,663 farmers in 14 markets created throughout the state.

This year, a goal of 22 thousand metric tonnes of paddy has been set. So far, farmers in the state have sold 20,993 metric tonnes of paddy worth Rs 45 crore to the government, according to Ravindra Thakur, Joint Director of State Civil and Food Supply Corporation. He said that the State Civil Supplies Corporation has already acquired around 9,000 metric tonnes of the objective of 6,250 metric tonnes (62,500 quintals) in the Sirmaur district.

crops throughout the state were damaged in 2022 owing to the southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), and numerous farmers were forced to destroy their harvests by driving tractors over them. SRBSDV, commonly known as dwarf disease, has harmed crops in the Sirmaur area. Only 2,000 metric tons of crops were produced in the Sirmaur area. SRBSDV, known as dwarf disease, has harmed crops in the Sirmaur area.

This year’s crop output has been a record, thanks to exceptional rains and avoiding the virus’s impacts. This time, the State Civil and Food Supplies Department is buying paddy. Previously, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) made the acquisition. The procurement in the state began on October 3 and is currently ongoing.

The support price for A-grade paddy is Rs 2,203 per quintal, while the price for regular paddy is Rs 2,183 per quintal.

Amid rising grain prices, the possibility of an irregular monsoon, and dwindling public stock in the Central pool, India prohibited the export of non-basmati white rice in July of this year.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers‘ Welfare announced the First Advance Estimates of main Kharif crops for 2023–24 on Friday, confirming the concerns about a decline in rice output. The government estimates that during Kharif 2023–24, rice output would be 1063.13 lakh metric tons (LMT), 3.7% less than the 1105.12 LMT achieved during the same season the previous year.

Despite the export prohibition, there has been no break in the rising cost of rice. The average wholesale price of rice was recorded at Rs 5,800 per quintal on October 24, 2023, according to data available on the Agriculture Ministry’s UPAg portal. This represents an increase of 27.43 percent over the price of rice one month prior (Rs 4,208.57 per quintal), 18.42 percent over the price of rice at the time the government announced the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) on January 25, 5.82 percent over the price at which the government set export regulations on August 27, 2022 (Rs 5,462.06 per quintal), and 3.21 percent above the price at which the price was one year prior (Rs 5,613.60 per quintal).