Thaindian News

Chandigarh, Oct 28 (IANS) Moving closer to another good paddy crop this year, foodgrain producing states Punjab and Haryana have procured nearly 112.82 lakh tonnes of paddy this season, officials said Friday.

The procurement is much higher in both states compared to the same period last year.

Punjab has procured nearly 87 lakh tonnes of paddy this year compared to 79 lakh tonnes procured in the same period last year, food and supplies officials said here. The procurement season began Oct 1.

Government agencies have procured over 96 per cent of the paddy coming to grain markets across the state, while the rest has been procured by private millers.

Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur districts were leading in paddy procurement so far. The Punjab government has set up 1,745 procurement centres across the state.

In neighbouring Haryana, nearly 25.82 lakh tonnes of paddy has been procured till Thursday.

This is much higher than the 17.2 lakh tonnes paddy procured in the same period last year.

Haryana Food and Supplies Minister Mahender Partap Singh said that out of the total arrival, over 23.38 lakh tonnes of paddy had been purchased by government agencies.

Kurukshetra, Karnal and Ambala districts were leading in paddy procurement so far, he added.