Centre announces start of paddy procurement at MSP in Punjab and Haryana 'with immediate effect'

New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday announced commencement of paddy procurement at the minimum support price (MSP) with immediate effect in Punjab and Haryana in the wake of early arrival of the kharif crop in these two states. Otherwise, paddy procurement for the 2020-21 kharif (summer) marketing season is scheduled to begin from 1 October in all the key growing states, it said. “However, in view of early arrival of paddy in the ‘mandies’ of Haryana and Punjab, Government of India has approved the commencement of procurement operations for paddy /rice immediately in both these states from today i.e. with effect from September 26, 2020,” the Union Food Ministry said in a statement. This is to ensure that farmers are facilitated in selling their produce at the MSP expeditiously, it said. The orders for commencement of procurement operations for paddy/rice from 26 September, in Haryana and Punjab, have been issued, it added. According to the ministry, state procuring agencies including Food Corporation of India (FCI) are in a state of readiness for smoothly undertaking procurement operations. The Centre has fixed MSP for ‘common variety’ paddy at Rs 1,868 per quintal and for ‘A’ grade variety at Rs 1,888 per quintal for the current year. The government has kept a target to procure 113 lakh tonnes of rice from Punjab and 44 lakh tonnes from Haryana during the kharif marketing season. Otherwise, total rice procurement target is kept at 495.37 lakh tonnes for the entire country for the 2020-21 kharif season.