Telangana invites global tenders to auction 25 lakh tonnes of paddy

Telangana State Civil Supplies corporation has opted for disposing the paddy in the open market after obtaining the green signal from the government

Hyderabad: The State Civil Supplies Corporation on Thursday invited global tenders for auction of 25 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. The corporation has opted for disposing the paddy in the open market after obtaining the green signal from the government.

A senior official of the Corporation said the 25 lakh metric tonnes of paddy being put up for auction was only one fourth of the over one crore tonnes procured by it from farmers in the State during Yasangi this year and Vanakalam last year. It would be put up for auction in six separate lots. The corporation is hard-pressed for space to preserve the paddy any longer. It has received the government nod more than a week ago for inviting the global tenders. But the process of pricing and other technical issues to be complied with resulted in the delay, the official said.

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The Corporation had procured 65 lakh metric tons of Yasangi paddy till the end of June. Stocks of another 55 lakh tonnes of paddy procured during Vanakalam 2022 were also with the Corporation. The Corporation is keen on auctioning the entire stock barring about 10 lakh tonnes meant for fulfilling its commitment to the Food Corporation of India.

Due to lakh of adequate storage facility, the corporation had opted for hiring private godowns and warehouses also this year. In view of the ever increasing paddy output, which is expected to touch four crore metric tonnes next year, the government is contemplating the idea of doubling its storage capacity. The gross storage capacity of the godowns under the State and Central agencies as well as the private players is little over 65 lakh metric tonnes only. The government is keen on making some additional storage space for the fresh arrivals that are expected once the procurement starts for the Vanakalam harvest this year.

Coming to the rescue of farmers whose paddy harvest was exposed to heavy rains in April this year, the government had purchased the stocks soaked in rains. But the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had confined itself to the stocks meeting the fair average quality norms.