Punjab, Haryana procure 170 lakh tonnes paddy

Chandigarh, Nov 11 (IANS) Food grain states Punjab and Haryana have procured nearly 170 lakh tonnes of paddy this season, officials said here Sunday.

While Punjab has procured nearly 125 lakh tonnes paddy, Haryana has procured over 44 lakh tonnes. Bulk of the paddy (nearly 99 percent) has been procured by government agencies while the rest has been procured by private millers in both states.

In Punjab, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Patiala were leading in procurement.

In Haryana, the procurement of over 44 lakh tonnes so far is higher than the nearly 36 lakh tonnes procured in the same period last year, a spokesman of Haryana food and supplies department 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.

In Punjab, the state government has set up 1,770 procurement centres.

The minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government this time is Rs.1,250 and Rs.1,280 per quintal for common and grade-A varieties of paddy.

IANS 2012-11-11 18:02:11