Telangana: Rabi procurement to commence on Monday

Additional purchase centres would be opened by assessing the situation where ever the need is felt, and "we will ensure a fair deal to the farmers," corporation officials said.

Hyderabad: Procurement of the Yasangi paddy will commence all over the State on Monday. Commissioner of Civil Supplies D S Chouhan, who had a review of the paddy arrivals in the markets, directed the district collectors to open up purchase centres as per need and convenience.

At a few places, the procurement process commenced as early as March 25, according to officials. Stage has been set to open 7100 paddy purchase centres in all the districts. But for the moisture issues, it is expected to be a hassle free procurement process.

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Additional purchase centres would be opened by assessing the situation where ever the need is felt, and “we will ensure a fair deal to the farmers,” corporation officials said.

The department had planned to schedule the procurement process from April 15. In view of the early harvest in the districts like Nalgonda, Nizamabad, and Khammam, the process was commenced in earnest.

Traders tried to cash in on the situation initially, but government agencies could intervene on time, said the officials.

The Rabi procurement was in the order of 92.34 lakh metric tonnes in 2020–21, 50.39 lakh metric tonnes in 2021-22 and 66–84 lakh metric tonnes in 2022–23.

The Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre, Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University, as part of its price forecast exercise for rice, has predicted that the paddy price per quintal will be around Rs 2140- Rs 2280 for common varieties and Rs 2250–2640 for Grade-A varieties at the time of harvesting during March-May, 2024.

In the Miryalaguda area, the traders have reportedly been offering up to Rs 2600 for grade A. As part of its price support policy, the government has extended a minimum support price of Rs 2,183 per quintal for common varieties and Rs 2,203 for Grade-A.