SME Times News Bureau | 20 Nov, 2017
Agrarian states Punjab and Haryana have procured nearly 240 lakh tonnes of paddy so far, Food and Supplies Department officials said here on Sunday.
Punjab has procured around 173 lakh tonnes and Haryana around 67 lakh tonnes, heading towards a record paddy procurement this season.
Government agencies have procured 98.5 per cent of the paddy arriving in the grain markets in Punjab and nearly 95 per cent in Haryana. The remaining paddy has been procured by rice millers and private traders.
Punjab is expecting a record procurement of over 182 lakh tonnes of paddy this year compared with over 168 lakh tonnes of the bumper crop last year.
Paddy arrival in Haryana is much higher than the over 62 lakh tonnes that arrived in the state's grain markets in the corresponding period last year.
The procurement, which began in both states on October 1, will continue till November end.
The Reserve Bank of India has sanctioned over Rs 33,800 crore for paddy procurement in Punjab in this kharif season.
