Saturday, November 1, 2008

Rice Procurement By Government Agencies - Nov 1, 2008

New Delhi: Rice procurement by Government agencies has picked up following the Centre's declaration of a bonus Rs 50 per quintal over and above the minimum support price (MSP) for the current 2008-09 marketing season (October-September). As on Oct 30, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and various State agencies had cumulatively purchased 78.37 lakh tonnes (lt) of rice, as against 72.42 lt procured during the corresponding period of the 2007-08 season. The step-up in procurement comes as a relief for the Centre, which was concerned over the initial lag that was mainly attributed to the delay in declaration of the bonus.

The decision to grant the Rs 50 per quintal bonus over and above the MSP of Rs 850 for common paddy and Rs 880 for grade 'A' varieties was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Oct 16. However, overall arrivals in the mandis remain to be lower compared to last year. As on OCt 30, total paddy arrivals of 132.1 lt were below the corresponding last year level of 135.83 lt. Both Punjab (105.73 lt versus 110.78 lt) and Haryana (19.24 lt versus 22.52 lt) have reported lower cumulative flows of grain into their markets.

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