Centre has started selling 1-9 tonnes rice directly from FCI depot in consuming States.

By Prabhudatta Mishra

India’s rice procurement in the 2024-25 season (October-September) has reached 545.22 lakh tonnes (lt) until August 31, up from 525.22 lt a year ago. Due to higher procurement, the government is now planning a roadmap to dispose of as much surplus grain as possible. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has already allowed traders to buy a minimum of 1 tonne of rice directly from a depot at the reserve price.

According to the latest data, the current year’s rice procurement included about 474 lt from kharif-grown crop and about 71 lt from the rabi season. The target of procurement for kharif crop was 511.57 lt and that for rabi season was 73.23 lt.

In Tamil Nadu, where rice is also a key crop of the rabi season, the Centre has purchased 28.26 lt (from both seasons) against a target of 28.24 lt. Rice procurement in Telangana reached 71.25 lt against 63.86 lt a year ago. The target of 35 lt from the rabi season has been exceeded in Telangana, sources said.

Annual demand

The Centre has been able to buy 10 lt rice each from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha as targeted for the rabi season. This helped it to take total purchase of rice from both kharif and rabi seasons in Andhra Pradesh to 25.60 lt and in Odisha to 50.12 lt.

The annual requirement under various schemes including the public distribution system (PDS) is around 410 lt and the buffer norm is 102.5 lt on October 1, while the carryover stock with the government was at nearly 380 lt of rice and 213.52 lt of unmilled paddy (or 143 lt of rice) as of August 1, the disposal of surplus will still be a concern.

According to data, the FCI has bought 19.91 lt of rice from West Bengal, 26.28 lt from in Bihar, 38.66 lt from Uttar Pradesh, 29.16 lt from Madhya Pradesh, 116.13 lt from Punjab and 36.17 lt from Haryana.

In Chhattisgarh, a major contributor to the Central Pool, the procurement ended on January 31, and the Centre has bought 78 lt as against 83 lt year-ago.

Bonus payment complicates

Sources said Chhattisgarh and Odisha were paying a bonus over paddy MSP and bought at ₹3,100/quintal, which may further jump this year if the States decide to match the Centre’s hike effected in MSP. The Centre has fixed the paddy MSP for 2025-26 at ₹2,389/quintal, up from ₹2,320/quintal in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the FCI has begun selling rice from its depot directly to traders at ₹2,800/quintal in which one trader can lift 1-9 tonne at a time, sources said. The scheme, which is valid in major rice consuming states, will help traders an option to buy and make the grain further passed on to the market for retail sales, sources said.

The government has already earmarked 52 lt of rice for distilleries to make ethanol and it will be sold at ₹23.20/kg from November onwards.

Published Date: September 3, 2025