Bumper paddy crop; Punjab, Haryana procure 180 lakh tonnes

Chandigarh, Nov 23 (IANS) After another bumper crop, India’s food bowl states of Punjab and Haryana procured over 180 lakh tonne of paddy this season, food and supplies officials of both states said here Friday.

While Punjab procured nearly 132 lakh tonne, Haryana procured nearly 48.5 lakh tonne of paddy. Government agencies procured nearly 99 percent of the produce in both the states. Private millers purchased the rest.

Punjab made payments of over Rs.15,500 crore to farmers this season, officials here said. Ludhiana, Sangrur and Patiala were leading procurers in Punjab. The state’s paddy procurement this year is 11 lakh tonne higher than the last year.

In Haryana, nearly 48.5 lakh tonne of paddy has been procured compared to over 41 lakh tonne in the corresponding period last year, officials said. Kurukshetra, Karnal and Kaithal were leading in paddy procurement in Haryana.

Procurement of paddy in both states started Oct 1 but the bulk of the stocks started arriving only after Oct 10.

The Punjab government has set up 1,770 procurement centres across the state. This year, Punjab fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs.1,250 per quintal for common paddy and Rs.1,280 for grade−A varieties.

IANS 2012-11-23 17:16:22