Surpassing the rice procurement target, the government’s rice procurement has stood at 38 million tonnes (MT) so far in the ongoing 2017-18 marketing year (October-September). The rice procurement target set for this year was 37.5 MT. During the last marketing year, the government had procured 34.35 MT, surpassing the target of 33 MT set for that year.
Much of the rice was purchased from states like Punjab, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Over 33% of the country's total rice production has been procured at the minimum support price (MSP).
The paddy is procured at the MSP. For the current year, the government has fixed paddy MSP of 'common' grade variety at Rs 1,550 per quintal, while that of 'A' grade variety at Rs 1,590 per quintal. The country is estimated to have harvested a record 112.91 MT of rice in 2017-18, as against 109.70 MT last year.