Rice purchase reaches 239 lakh tonnes

New Delhi, December 30

The Union Government has procured 238.8 lakh tonnes of rice in the 2018-19 marketing season so far, with the buying in Punjab and Haryana almost over, according to official data.

The rice procurement target for the current season has been fixed at 375 lakh tonnes. In the previous year, the total procurement was 381.8 lakh tonnes.

Procurement is undertaken by the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies for the Central pool to meet the requirement of the food security law. Rice is purchased at the minimum support price (MSP).

According to FCI data, rice procurement has reached 113.3 lakh tonnes in Punjab, 39.09 lakh tonnes in Haryana and 22.42 lakh tonnes in Chhattisgarh so far.

A Food Ministry official said the procurement operations in Punjab and Haryana were almost complete. — PTI