HYDERABAD: The paddy procurement process for the kharif season has reached its final stages. The government has purchased 59 lakh tonnes of paddy worth Rs 12,051 crore from 10.4 lakh farmers at minimum support price (MSP), and credited Rs 11,000 crore to their bank accounts so far.
Out of the 7,011 procurement centres, 4,607 centres have been closed on the completion of purchase of paddy.
Civil supplies minister Gangula Kamalakar on Thursday said that the highest procurement was done in Nizamabad district at six lakh metric tonnes, followed by five lakh tonnes in Kamareddy district and four lakh tonnes in Nalgonda district.
He said the lowest procurement was in Adilabad, Gadwal, Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad districts, as the stocks arrived late in their markets.
The state government has set itself a target of procuring one crore tonnes of paddy for kharif; paddy was sown in a record extent of 65 lakh acres and it is expected that the output would be 1.41 crore tonnes. While nearly 41 lakh tonnes was expected to be sold in the open market or used for seed production.
Due to huge demand for rice in the national and international markets this year, private traders and rice millers purchased more. Some private players purchased paddy at rates above the MSP and exported it. It is estimated that private players purchased up to 70 lakh tonnes.
