RICE PROCUREMENT ESTIMATED AT 165 LAKH TONNES
DURING KHARIF 2002-03
Procurement of rice during the kharif-marketing
season 2002-03 is estimated at 165 lakh tonnes. This emerged at
a meeting taken by Shri R.D. Kapur, Secretary, Food and Public
Distribution with state food secretaries and officers of Ministry
of Agriculture and Food Corporation of India here today. It has
also been decided to start the procurement by 1st of
October in many of the procuring States. Secretaries from Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,
Punjab, Maharastra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Chaittsgarh and Uttaranchal
attended the meeting.
As on August 19, 2002 a quantity
of 206.3 lakh tonnes of rice (including paddy in terms of rice)
has been procured for the central pool during the kharif-marketing
season 2001-02 as against 186.96 lakh tonnes during the corresponding
period of the previous marketing season. In addition, 8.65 lakh
tonnes of rice has been procured by Government of Tamil Nadu which
does not contribute to the central pool. The total quantity of
rice (including paddy in terms of rice) procured during the current
kharif marketing season 2001-02 stands at 214.95 lakh tonnes as
on August 19, 2002.
The state agencies will be procuring
about 10 lakh tonnes of coarsegrains during the kharif marketing
season 2002-03. The procurement of coarsegrains during the current
kharif marketing season 2001-02 was about 3.14 lakh tonnes as
on August 19, 2002.
