Commodity Explorer

Over 95 lakh tonnes paddy procured in Punjab

2010-11-02T12:04:00.001+05:30

Source : UNI

Chandigarh, Nov 1 : Government agencies and private millers procured more than 95,09,739 tonnes of paddy in Punjab till last evening.

An official spokesman said here today that out of total procurement in all the procurement centers of the state, Government agencies procured 89,59,856 tonnes whereas private traders,procured 1,57,646 tonnes paddy.

He said that PUNGRAIN had procured 28,34,193 tonnes whereas MARKFED procured 19,60,817 tonnes, PUNSUP procured 22,19,194 tonnes, PSWC procured 11,22,388 tonnes whereas PAIC was able to procure 8,23,264 tonnes of paddy till last evening.

The Central Government agency FCI had been able to procure 3,92,237 tonnes of paddy.

He said that Patiala district with 9,57,136 tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas Ludhiana district with 9,46,063 tonnes of procurement was at second slot and Ferozepur district with 8,61,961 tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

The State Government has set up almost 1700 procurement centres and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, he added.

23.14 lakh MT paddy arrives in Haryana mandis

2010-11-02T11:57:00.001+05:30

Source : PTI, Chandigarh, Oct 31

In Haryana, 18.99 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased by the government procuring agencies out of the total arrival of 23.14 lakh metric tonnes of the crop in various mandis of the state.

The remaining 4.14 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased by the millers or dealers, a spokesman of the Food and Supplies Department said here today.

He said that 7.05 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased by HAFED, whereas Food and Supplies Department has purchased 7.26 lakh metric tonnes, Agro Industries 2.22 lakh metric tonnes, CONFED 1.15 lakh metric tonnes, Haryana Warehousing Corporation 1.10 lakh metric tonnes and Food Corporation of India 19,920 metric tonnes.

He said that district Kurukshetra was leading in the paddy arrival where 5.13 lakh metric tonnes of the crop had arrived in the mandis till yesterday.

Centre's rice procurement slides 12.3%

2010-11-02T11:47:00.001+05:30

Source : Hindu Business Line, New Delhi, Oct. 28

Governmental rice procurement is down 12.3 per cent in the ongoing 2010-11 marketing season (October-September) compared to last year.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies have so far managed to purchase only 64.63 lakh tonnes (lt) as against 73.70 lt during this period in the 2009-10 season. Procurement is trailing in Punjab (52.06 lt versus 59.06 lt) and Haryana (11.59 lt versus 13.86 lt), while being ahead in Tamil Nadu (0.61 lt versus 0.21 lt).

Progressive paddy arrivals in mandis are also lower this time in Punjab (79.23 lt versus 90.03 lt) and Haryana (18.64 lt versus 22.14 lt). “Crop yields have definitely dropped compared to last year. I expect an overall 10-12 per cent decline in total procurement”, said Mr Raj Sud, a trader in Punjab's Khanna grain market.

Dr B.S. Sidhu, Director (Agriculture) of Punjab Government, attributed the reduced yields to lower coverage under PAU-201, a short-duration, high-yielding variety. “Last year, 17-18 per cent of Punjab paddy area was under PAU-201, which gives 75 quintal a hectare, compared to 65-67 quintal for normal non-basmati varieties. This time, not even 0.1 per cent area would have been planted under this variety because of FCI's refusal to procure it (on grounds of quality, which the State Government has refuted)”, he told Business Line.

Basmati cheer follows flood fury

2010-10-29T10:34:00.001+05:30

Source : The Indian Express, Posted: Oct 29, 2010 at 0328 hrs IST

Chandigarh This is perhaps the proverbial silver lining to the floods that ravaged the paddy belts of Punjab and Haryana in July. Fast-falling groundwater levels are up, acreage under water-guzzling paddy is down, and area under more frugal basmati varieties is up.

According to estimates by the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, basmati output is likely to go up by 5-7 per cent in the 2010-11 kharif season, bettering last year’s record production of 6.7 million tonnes.

“Last year, the area under basmati paddy in the country was around 17 lakh hectares; nearly 80 per cent in Punjab and Haryana, the remaining in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Though the final figure will emerge after harvesting, we are estimating a jump of 5-7 per cent in overall production,” said A K Gupta, APEDA’s adviser (basmati).

While there is a remarkable surge in the area under basmati in Haryana this year, in Punjab too it is likely to go past last year’s six lakh hectares.

“Our contribution of paddy to the central pool is going to decline this year as almost 65 per cent of our area under paddy is under basmati varieties (which are not procured for the central pool),” said Haryana’s additional director, agriculture, B S Duggal.

“It has increased from 5.5 lakh hectares last year to 7 lakh hectares in the 2010-11 kharif season. Against last year’s record production of 55 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy, including basmati, Haryana will this year reach an overall production of about 49 lakh MT,” Duggal said.

In Punjab, where the area under basmati nearly doubled to 6 lakh hectares in 2009-10 from 3.5 lakh hectares in 2008-09, many farmers had opted for late-sown basmati after the floods as the sowing window for parmal (paddy procured for the central pool) was over.

Punjab agriculture director B S Sidhu said, “Basmati production is likely to be higher than last year.

However, the precise percentage of increase can only be ascertained after harvesting.” Crop exporters said business this year will depend on several factors. “Last year, production was the highest ever and proved to be a dampener for prices. Iran, a prime market for Indian basmati, has clamped down on imports to safeguard the interests of its farmers. Also, since exporters have stocks left over from last year, prices may move as per market forces,” said Amritsar-based K R S Sobti of Punjab Rice Millers Exporters’ Association.

All India Rice Exporters Association president Vijay Setia said, “Prices are presently 10-15 per cent higher than last year but the export demand is not very good. Buyers are waiting as there are reports of India having a good crop this year. Pakistan’s floods have damaged mainly its non-basmati crop, and it also has an exchange-rate advantage over Indian exports.”

Exporters are procuring basmati for Rs 1,900-2,050 per quintal this year, against the starting price of Rs 1,500-1,700 last year. “The yield of basmati in Muktsar district is down but the prices are good. In mandis in Muktsar the starting range is between Rs 1,900 to Rs 1,950 per quintal,” said Rajiv Ahuja, a leading commission agent of the district.

In mandis of Ferozepur district such as Jalalabad, Fazilka and Abohar too farmers are fetching between Rs 1,900-2,050 per quintal for Pusa 1121, the main basmati variety grown in the district. “Last year, the starting range was Rs 1,700 per quintal but went up to Rs 2,600 for the finest basmati. Reports of damage to basmati from floods in Amritsar and other districts has impacted prices in this district favourably,” said Sandeep Kalra, a rice trader in Fazilka.

Amira Foods bags $45mn order from Bangladesh

2010-10-29T10:33:00.001+05:30

Source : PTI, 28 Oct, 2010, 05.59PM IST

NEW DELHI: Rice processor Amira Foods India on Thursday said it has bagged a $45 million order for supplying 90,000 tonnes rice to Bangladesh.

"We have bagged a $45 million deal to supply 90,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh. The tender is awarded to us by Bangladesh government. We won it by offering the lowest bid," Amira Group's executive director Protik Guha said.

Since India does not allow export of non-basmati rice, the company would source them from countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan to execute the contract, he said.

Rice production in Bangladesh, though its staple food, is around one million tonne less than its annual requirement. The Food and Public Disaster Management Ministry of the Bangladesh government had issued a global tender to source rice to partly meet that gap.

Amira Foods, which exports rice to around 50 countries worldwide, had earlier said that it expects its turnover to go up to Rs 1,500 crore in three years from Rs 1,000 crore in 2009-10. Currently, 70 per cent of its turnover comes from exports.

Punjab procures 79.23 lakh paddy

2010-10-29T10:32:00.003+05:30

Source : Punjab Newsline Network, Thursday, 28 October 2010

CHANDIGARH: Government agencies and private millers procured more than 7923200 tonnes of Paddy till last evening.

A spokesman of Punjab Govt. said here today that out of total procurement in all the procurement centers of Punjab, Government agencies procured 7770110 tonnes (98.1%) whereas private traders procured 153090 tonnes (1.9%) of paddy. Till ctober 27, PUNGRAIN had procured 2312207 tonnes (29.8%) whereas MARKFED procured 1624543 tonnes (20.9%), PUNSUP procured 1849698 tonnes (23.8%), PSWC procured 944558 tonnes (12.2%) whereas PAIC was able to procure 695955 tonnes (9.0 %) of paddy.

The Central Government agency FCI had been able to procure 343149 tonnes (4.4%).

The spokesman added that District Ferozepur with 831569 tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas district Patiala with 777083 tonnes of procurement was at second slot and District Ludhiana 653205 tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

The State Government has set up almost 1700 procurement centers and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.

75,915 metric tonnes of paddy arrived in Haryana

2010-10-29T10:32:00.001+05:30

Source : Haryana News

Chandigarh, October 28– As much as 75,915 metric tonnes of paddy arrived in the mandis of Haryana yesterday increasing the total arrival of paddy to over 20.55 lakh metric tonnes.

While stating this today, the Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Mahender Partap Singh said that the district Kurukshetra was leading in paddy arrival where over 4.72 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had so far arrived in the mandis, followed by Karnal, where over 3.97 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis. District Fatehabad ranked third in paddy arrival, where over 3.22 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, whereas district Kaithal with over 2.90 lakh metric tonnes of paddy arrival stood at fourth place. Over 2.07 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in Ambala, 1.24 lakh metric tonnes in Yamunanagar, 42,026 metric tonnes in Sirsa, 37,731 metric tonnes in Panipat, 36,231 metric tonnes in Palwal and 29,330 metric tonnes in Panchkula.

He said that the six Government procuring agencies had so far purchased over 17.27 lakh metric tonnes of paddy at a minimum support price.

Food and Supplies Department had purchased over 6.65 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, whereas over 6.45 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had been purchased by HAFED. Agro Industries had purchased over 2.03 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, CONFED 99,326 metric tonnes, Haryana Warehousing Corporation 98,056 metric tonnes and Food Corporation of India 17,023 metric tonnes of paddy.

The Minister said that the procuring agencies had also procured 68,685 metric tonnes of Bajra at a minimum support price out of the total arrival of 99,483 metric tonnes in the mandis. The balance 30,798 metric tonnes of Bajra had been purchased by the dealers.

Rain in Punjab, Haryana may affect paddy yield

2010-10-28T11:44:00.003+05:30

Source : BS Reporters / Chandigarh October 26, 2010, 0:18 IST

The sporadic showers in the northern region on Friday are likely to lower paddy output in Punjab and Haryana.

The western disturbances, which led to rain in a few places in the two states, could adversely impact the paddy yield. A total of 3.85 million hectares is expected to be under paddy, with a crop size of 18.2 million tonnes in Punjab and Haryana, and 40 per cent of the crop is still standing in the fields.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has this year mandated strict moisture norms and will not buy crops with moisture beyond 17 per cent. This was due to surplus foodgrain with FCI, said a farmer in Ludhiana. If there is scarcity, paddy with 25-26 per cent moisture is also lifted.

Impact on Haryana

Scientists in Haryana said showers could adversely impact the yield. They said there was waterlogging in a few places in Haryana which were hit by intermittent rain and winds. Waterlogging will adversely impact the grain’s formation, especially of the basmati variety, resulting in lower output. Also, the shower could raise the moisture content in paddy, because of which even private millers might not buy the produce.

Jewel Singla, general secretary, Haryana Pradesh Rice Miller and Dealer Association, said rain could affect the basmati variety in a few districts of the state.

Paddy yield in Haryana this year has been under stress due to multiple reasons. Floods, followed by an extended monsoon, are likely to keep the productivity on the lower side. Haryana had set a target of 1.15 million hectares under paddy this year. Agriculture officials said it had touched 1.15 million hectares, short of last year’s 1.20 million hectares.

Impact on Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a special survey to assess the loss. According to sources in the government, Badal directed the financial commissioner (revenue) to issue detailed instructions to the deputy commissioners concerned for carrying out the survey in areas hit by rain and hailstorm and also ascertain the damage to paddy.

Adequate compensation, according to the government’s norms, would be given to the affected farmers, added Badal.

Punjab, Haryana procure over 8.5 mn tonnes of paddy

2010-10-28T11:44:00.001+05:30

Source : IANS

Chandigarh, Oct 25 : Over 8.5 million tonnes of paddy has been procured by Punjab and Haryana in the first 25 days of the procurement process, officials said here Monday.

In Punjab, government agencies and private millers procured over 6.7 million (67 lakh) tonnes of paddy till Monday morning.

Nearly 98 per cent of the total procurement in Punjab was done by the government agencies in over 1,700 procurement centres across the state.

Ferozepur district, with over 784,405 tonnes, was leading the procurement process, followed by Patiala (591,438 tonnes) and Jalandhar (581,260 tonnes).

Punjab is targetting a bumper procurement of over 14 million (140 lakh) tonnes of paddy this season.

In neighbouring Haryana, out of the total arrival of nearly 1.8 mn tonnes of paddy, nearly 1.5 million was procured by government agencies, and the rest purchased by private millers.

Kurukshetra, Karnal and Fatehabad districts were among the top three districts in procurement in the state, with over 417,000, 362,000 and 263,000 tonnes respectively.

Rice exports to register increase

2010-10-22T16:12:00.001+05:30

Source: Business Standard/Komal Amit Gera / New Delhi/ Chandigarh October 22, 2010, 0:05 IST

Rice exporters from India are upbeat over the higher projections of basmati output and better prospects of exports.

The loss of crop, in Philippines due to storms and in Thailand and Pakistan due to floods, is driving Indian exporter s to speculate for better realisations this year.

The satellite image procured by All India Rice Millers Association and Agriculture and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) depict an increase in area under basmati from 1,400,000 hectares last year to 1,800,000 hectares this year.

The total basmati production last year was about 4.5 million tonnes and an increase of 25 per cent is expected by the various lobbies (traders, farmers and exporters) this year.

The higher ouput may also fetch better margins to the exporters as the higher supplies would undermine the negotiating power of the farmers.

According to sources in APEDA, the orders procured by rice industry and registered with APEDA were about 3.2 million tonnes. The actual export was to the tune of 2 million tonnes.

Dawat Basmati Rice Managing Director V K Arora said that he expects the exports to increase this year due to new markets eyeing India for best quality basmati. He also expects a 30-40 per cent increase in domestic demand for basmati due to rising disposable incomes.

The only fear of exporters is the hardening of the Indian Rupee vis-à-vis other international currencies. Most of the Indian rice is routed through Iran and this can effect realisations.

MSPs for Rabi Crops of 2010-11 season to be marketed in 2011-12

2010-10-20T14:41:00.000+05:30

Source : PIB Press Release, Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of rabi crops of 2010-11 to be marketed in 2011-12 season. The MSPs approved are on the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and will be as follows:(` per quintal)

Commodity	MSP fixed for 2009-10 season	MSP approved for 2010-11 season	Change in MSP over 2009-10 season
Wheat	1100	1120	20
Barley	750	780	30
Gram	1760	2100	340
Masur (Lentil)	1870	2250	380
Rapeseed / Mustard	1830	1850	20
Safflower	1680	1800	120

The prices of other oilseeds belonging to the Rapeseed / Mustard group will be fixed on the basis of their normal market price differentials with Rapeseed / Mustard.

In the case of cereals, FCI and other designated State Agencies will continue to provide price support to the farmers, as in the past. NAFED will continue to be the nodal agency for procurement of oilseeds and pulses; and losses, if any, will be fully reimbursed by the Government of India.

India may ease curbs on rice exports, pressure prices

2010-10-12T15:57:00.003+05:30

Source : Reuters, SINGAPORE | Tue Oct 12, 2010 3:10pm IST

India is likely to ease controls over non-basmati rice exports and sell up to 3 million tonnes in 2011 due to burdensome stocks, which could pressure global prices, traders said on Tuesday.

"There is going to be huge pressure coming after the harvest in November and December," said one trader on the sidelines of a regional industry conference in Singapore.

"They will have to sell to reduce stocks. We are expecting around 2 to 3 million tonnes of non-basmati rice exports from India."

In addition to the possibility of India's rice exports, pressure from the harvest in Thailand, the world's top exporter, is expected to weigh on benchmark 100 percent B grade Thai white rice , currently trading around $500 a tonne.

"In all probability, prices should come down from the current levels after November," said another Singapore-based rice trader. "We had Indonesia coming into the market and buying rice but there was not much market reaction."

Indonesia bought 500,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand and Vietnam, marking its biggest purchase since 2007, and the country could be looking for another 700,000 tonnes.

Unlike U.S. corn and wheat futures, which climbed to multi-year highs, rice -- the key staple in Asia -- has largely stayed stable in the past few months, hovering between $450 and $500 a tonne.

India curbed rice exports in 2007/08 but government stockpiles swelled after subsequent bumper harvests. On Oct. 1, the country's rice stocks stood at 18.4 million tonnes, well above a target of 5.2 million.

"India has had little success with government-to-government deals on rice, so they have to allow the private trade to sell rice in order to reduce the burden of stocks," the Singapore trader said.

The country's farm ministry last month forecast this year's summer-sown rice output at 80.4 million tonnes, up from 75.9 million tonnes produced in the previous year. "It is high time the government allows exports of non-basmati rice," said V.K. Bhasin, vice-president of the Lal Mahal group, a leading New Delhi-based rice exporter.

"Grains are already stocked in open fields and there is hardly any space to store the new season rice. Exports are absolutely imperative."

Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, is expected to produce 22.9 million tonnes of paddy in its main 2010/11 crop as drought and then floods had caused only minor damage, an Agriculture Ministry official said last week.

Thailand's second, smaller rice crop, grown mostly in well-irrigated areas in the centre of the country, is due to be sown in the early part of next year and harvesting could start in late June. Thailand produces around 5-7 million tonnes of paddy in its smaller crop.

Haryana likely to contribute 7% rice to central pool

2010-10-12T15:57:00.001+05:30

Source : Financial Express, Tuesday, Oct 12, 2010 at 2339 hrs IST

Chandigarh: Haryana is likely to contribute around 18.40 lakh metric tonne of rice to the central pool in 2010-11 crop year that started in October, which is almost 7% of the country's total procurement for the central pool this year.

Out of this around 17.40 lakh tonne will be custom milled rice and one lakh tonne will be levy (from private millers). This, however, is almost at par with the rice contributed in 2009-10 which stood at 18.56 lakh tonne.

A senior official of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) told FE that the total rice due to be contributed to the central pool is around 18.40 lakh tonne this year. “The area under paddy cultivation has been recorded as 11.50 lakh hectares this kharif season and the production is likely to go up to 56.07 lakh tonne. Out of this about 48 lakh tonne paddy will arrive in the mandis. The state procuring agencies will purchase paddy from 181 purchase centres,” the official said.

Out of the rice to be contributed last year to the central pool (18.56 lakh tonne) around 17.66 lakh tonne was custom milled rice and around 90,000 tonne was levy. FCI so far has received 17.29 lakh tonne custom milled rice and 52,000 tonne of levy rice.

The official further added that though the arrival of the crop is slow this year as compared to last year but it will eventually pick up. Due to the inclement weather this year the ripening of paddy has been delayed a bit which is affecting early arrival of the crop into the mandis. Where the procurement of paddy was getting preponed since the last two years, this year it started from October 1 only.

As per data available the average paddy arrival till date is about 44,785 tonne per day whereas last year per day arrival stood at 85,000 tonne during the same period.

Moreover, state procuring agencies have purchased 3.73 lakh tonne paddy so far which is far behind the figure of 7.95 lakh tonne purchased during the same period in 2009-10.

Private millers have purchased around 70,000 tonne so far and in 2009-10 the purchases done by the millers stood at 73,000 tonne till same date. Talking about the storage space the FCI official informed that a total of 3.87 lakh tonne of space is available with FCI out of which around 2 lakh tonne can be used for storing rice.

Punjab, Haryana cross 2.65 mn tonnes paddy procurement

2010-10-12T15:56:00.000+05:30

Source : IANS, Monday 11th October, 2010

Heading for a bumper crop despite heavy rains and floods last month, Punjab and Haryana have crossed the 2.65 million (26.5 lakh) tonnes mark in paddy procurement in the first 10 days of procurement this season.

Food and supplies officials in Punjab said that nearly 2.2 million tonnes of paddy had been procured in the state by government agencies and private rice millers.

Government agencies have procured 96.7 per cent of the paddy arriving so far in nearly 1,700 procurement centres across Punjab.

The procurement this season is much higher than the procurement of 1.67 million tonnes made in the same period last year, the officials said.

The border district of Ferozepur, with 390,217 tonnes, was leading in procurement operations followed by district Tarn Taran (253,442 tonnes) and district Jalandhar (232,779 tonnes).

Following complaints from various places from farmers that their stocks are not being lifted by concerned agencies, D.S. Guru, principal Secretary to Punjab chief minister, Monday started visiting grain markets in the state to ensure smooth procurement and lifting of paddy.

In Haryana, out of the total arrival of 457,000 tonnes of paddy arrival, over 372,000 tonnes had been procured by government agencies.

Kurukshetra district was leading in paddy arrival with over 129,000 tonnes followed by Karnal (over 127,000 tonnes) and Kaithal (over 75,700 tonnes).

Rice procurement up 15.9% on higher Punjab crop

2010-10-12T15:55:00.003+05:30

Source : Hindu Business Line, New Delhi, Oct. 8

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies have bought 10.54 lakh tonnes (lt) equivalent of rice till Friday for the new 2010-11 marketing year (October-September). This is 15.9 per cent more than the 9.09 lt procured during the same period of 2010-11.

Rice Procurement
(lakh tonnes)
2002-03	164.06
2003-04	228.96
2004-05	246.72
2005-06	275.78
2006-07	251.07
2007-08	287.36
2008-09	336.84
2009-10	314.78
*October – September marketing year. Related to the period April - August

Progressive purchases for the Central pool have gone up in Punjab (9.10 lt versus 5.11 lt), while dropping in Haryana (1.26 lt versus 3.77 lt).

Crop size

“The crop size in Punjab this time is certainly bigger. The main reason for this is that farmers who had planted basmati varieties such as Pusa-1121 last year did not get good prices. So, they have switched back to the normal higher-yielding Parmal (non- basmati paddy), which is reflected in both increased production and procurement,”,said Mr Raj Sud, an arhthia (commission agent) based in Khanna.

Government agencies do not buy basmati varieties. Any decrease in their production share, therefore, leads to higher procurement for the Central pool.

In Haryana, on the other hand, a large area this time has come under traditional basmati varieties. This, in turn, has been on account of floods in the first week of July, inundating large areas in the northern districts of Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Ambala, where farmers had already undertaken transplanting of normal Parmal paddy.

Since these areas could not be re-transplanted with non- basmati (as the sowing window of June for these was already over), farmers had to go in for basmati sowing (where the regular transplantation schedule is from July 1 to the first week of August). And within basmati, farmers opted for traditional varieties, for which the price prospects were better than for higher-yielding Pusa-1121 and Pusa Basmati-1.

“Haryana's regular paddy production will definitely fall year. Both yields as well as acreages are less,” noted Mr Raman Gupta, a wholesale trader at Karnal. The arrivals of Pusa-1121 and traditional basmatis such as CSR-30 are yet to begin.

In Punjab, total paddy arrivals in mandis have already crossed 14 lt, against 8.07 lt last year this time. In Haryana, it is the opposite, with only 2.39 lt coming in so far, compared to last year's 6.22 lt.

Harvesting to gather pace

In all other States, harvesting of the kharif crop is yet to gather pace. For 2010, the country's kharif rice production is expected at 80.41 million, according to the Union Agriculture Ministry's first advance estimate released last month. This is more than the 75.91 mt of kharif 2009.

Accordingly, there is a likelihood of procurement, too, increasing from the 314.78 lt level during the just-ended 2009-10 marketing year.

As on September 1, rice stocks in the Central pool, at 204.80 lt, were more than the 172.11 lt and 84.72 lt levels on the same date of the preceding two years.

Rice acreage up by 6.5 pc this kharif season

2010-10-12T15:55:00.001+05:30

Source : PIB Press Release, Friday, October 08, 2010

Kharif crops have been sown in 1021.92 lakh ha area so far. It is 64.34 lakh ha more than the acreage on this date last year (957.58 lakh ha). It is also about 13 lakh ha more than 2008, which was a record production year. The sowing of all major crops this year is more than that in the last kharif.

The cropped areas (Lakh Hectare) for major crops as on 7^th October this year and last year are as follows:

Crop	7^th Oct, 2010	7^th Oct,2009
Rice	352.80	331.42
Pulses	115.93	97.66
Jowar	30.55	30.93
Bajra	86.38	85.18
Maize	75.84	70.97
Coarse cereals	212.16	206.16
Oilseeds	175.00	174.43
Sugarcane	50.60	42.02
Jute	7.59	6.92
Cotton	107.84	98.97

The summary of acreage of major kharif crops is given below:

Rice: About 352.80 lakh ha rice has been sown compared to last year coverage of 331.42 lakh ha in Kharif. Thus 21.38 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 28.74 lakh ha less area coverage compared to 2008 at this point of time.

Pulses: About 115.93 lakh ha of pulses has been sown in Kharif compared to last year coverage of 97.66 lakh ha. Thus 18.27 ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 11.7 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Jowar: About 30.55 lakh ha of jowar has been sown in Kharif compared to last year coverage of 30.93 lakh ha. Thus 0.38 lakh ha less area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 1.42 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Bajra: About 86.38 lakh ha of bajra has been sown compared to last year coverage of 85.18 lakh ha in Kharif at this time. Thus 1.2 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 8.64 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Maize: In maize about 75.84 lakh ha sowing has already been completed compared to 70.97 lakh ha area during the same period in last year. Thus 4.87 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 4.64 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Oil Seeds: About 175 lakh ha oil seeds have been sown compared to last year coverage of 174.43 lakh ha. Thus 0.57 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 7.98 lakh ha less area coverage compared to 2008.

Sugarcane: In sugarcane about 50.60 lakh ha sowing has already been completed compared to 42.02 lakh ha area during the same period in last year. Thus 8.58 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 6.45 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Jute: About 7.59 lakh ha of jute has been sown compared to last year coverage of 6.92 lakh ha in Kharif at this time. Thus 0.67 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 0.22 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

Cotton: About 107.84 lakh ha of cotton has been sown compared to last year coverage of 98.97 lakh ha in Kharif at this time. Thus 8.87 lakh ha more area has been covered in this Kharif season compared to last year and 16.92 lakh ha more area coverage compared to 2008.

India's grain stocks swell on Oct 1 - govt sources

2010-10-08T16:36:00.002+05:30

Source : Reuters, NEW DELHI | Fri Oct 8, 2010 12:30am IST

India's grain stocks at the start of this month soared on bumper harvests in recent years and on banned exports of wheat and non-basmati rice, giving the government adequate firepower to deal with high double-digit food inflation.

The food price index in the year to Sept. 25 rose 16.24 percent from a year earlier, government data on Thursday showed.

At 27.7 million tonnes, wheat stocks on Oct. 1 were more than double the 11 million tonnes target, government sources said on Thursday, while rice inventory jumped to 18.4 million tonnes against a target of 5.2 million tonnes.

Last month, stocks of wheat were at 29.9 million tonnes, while that of rice were at 20.5 million tonnes.

State-run Food Corporation India, the main grain procurement agency, buys rice from local farmers throughout the year, while it usually procures wheat between April and July.

High food prices are a political concern for the ruling Congress party, which faces key state elections this year and next.

Analysts say high food prices have dissuaded the government from lifting a ban on exports of wheat and common grades of rice despite overflowing grain bins.

The government buys wheat and rice from local farmers to build reserves for welfare programmes, emergency needs and help farmers avoid distress sale.

Slow paddy procurement in UP

2010-10-08T16:36:00.000+05:30

Source : Business Standard, 2010-10-08 02:20:00

The paddy procurement is witnessing a sluggish start in the rice bowl of Uttar Pradesh amid fears of considerable damage to the crop in the recent floods.

The procurement season, that kicked off from October 1 will continue through the month of February 2011.

The state government is targeting to procure 2 million tonnes of paddy this season, while Food Corporation of India (FCI) has an additional target of 50,000 tonnes.

"The arrival of paddy in the procurement centres is yet to pick up, but it will gather steam after a week," UP food and civil supplies Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Mehboob Hasan Khan told Buisness Standard.

He said there was possibility of paddy being affected due to floods. Besides, the small amount of paddy, which had so far arrived to the centres, contained high moisture, he said.

Normally, the arrival of paddy picks up earlier in western UP vis-à-vis eastern parts of the state. The procurement season will gather full steam in November.

The government has set up around 2,000 procurement centres all over UP. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) stands at Rs 1,000/quintal.

Rice production unlikely to touch 100-mt target

2010-10-08T16:35:00.005+05:30

Source :PTI, Thursday, October 7, 2010

NEW DELHI: Rice production is likely to fall short of the targeted 100 million tonnes in 2010-11 crop year, on account of drought and floods in some parts of the country.

“Production of 100 mt of rice seems doubtful this year, as there has been damage to the kharif crop due to floods in Uttar Pradesh and drought in eastern states,” the Agriculture Secretary, Mr P.K. Basu, told reporters here on Thursday.

He noted that the total rice output could reach around 95 mt in case of good rabi crop.

According to the first advance estimate released by the Ministry last month, rice production was projected to rise to 80.41 mt in the kharif season of 2010-11 crop year (July-June) against 75.91 mt in 2009-10 crop year.

Mr Basu pointed out that the estimated kharif output has fallen short of the 87-mt target, mainly because of excess rains in Uttar Pradesh and drought in Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of West Bengal.

He said the paddy productivity was higher in kharif season but hoped the same would be achieved in rabi season.

“If we manage to get similar yields in rabi season, I hope we will be able to produce 14.5 mt,” he said, adding that inputs like seeds and fertilisers were already in place for undertaking sowing of rabi crops that will commence next month.

In the current kharif season, paddy yields per hectare rose to 2,177 kg from 2,025 kg last season, which helped in increasing the rice output by 4.5 mt despite a marginal fall in the paddy coverage area.

Paddy area dropped to 37 million hectare in kharif 2010 against 37.4 million hectare in the year-ago period. Over 80 per cent of the country’s rice output is grown in the kharif season and the rest in the rabi season. — PTI

Desi wheat rules firm; dara steady

2010-10-08T16:35:00.003+05:30

Source : Hindu Business Line, Karnal, Oct 7

With demand being sluggish and arrival of the dara variety from Uttar Pradesh good, the wheat market witnessed a steady trend on Thursday. Prices of dara variety ruled at Rs 1,190-1,195. The fine quality ruled at Rs 1,215 a quintal. About 350 quintals of dara wheat arrived on Thursday.

On the other hand, following low arrivals, prices of desi wheat ruled firm and stayed at the upper levels. Tohfa variety ruled at Rs 2,250-2,300 a quintal; Lok-1 at Rs 1,850-1,870; Kitchen queen new marka at Rs 2,060-2,080; Parley-G variety at Rs 2,150-2,175; and Nano at Rs 2,100-2,120 a quintal.

Mr Sewa Ram, a wheat trader, said sellers were awaiting the release of the wheat stock meant for supply to above-poverty-line cardholders through the public distribution system in Haryana.

Flour prices witnessed a steady trend and quoted at Rs 1,200 (90-kg bag). Chokar prices continued their uptrend, rising by Rs 5 to touch the season's highest at around Rs 575 (49-kg bag).

Paddy Trading

PR paddy varieties such as PR-11 and PR-47 ruled at Rs 900-1,030 a quintal, while the PR-13 quoted at Rs 900-1,000 a quintal.

Although the PR varieties are traded at the Minimum Support Price of Rs 1,000 for normal paddy and Rs 1,030 for Grade-A, they ruled at Rs 900-1,000 on Thursday.

According to traders, the stock does not meet the standards set by the Government as it is of low quality and discoloured.

Prices of the Sharbati variety ruled at Rs 1,250-1,500 a quintal. Sugandha-999 prices ruled at Rs 1,300-1,550, while the RS10 was quoted at Rs 1,300 a quintal. The stock was lifted by Government agencies and rice millers.

Deadlock between Haryana, millers may hit rice lifting

2010-10-08T16:35:00.001+05:30

Source : Press Trust Of India / Chandigarh October 7, 2010, 0:02 IST

A standoff between the Haryana government and rice millers is threatening to derail the procurement of paddy in Haryana, with growers accusing authorities of not lifting the crop despite heavy arrival in markets.

The state government said it is hopeful of settling the issue with state rice millers within a day or two, while claiming to have lifted ‘each grain’ of paddy.

Peeved at the slow pace of paddy lifting at various places in the state, farmers have even threatened to launch an agitation against the state government.

At the beginning of the paddy lifting season, Haryana rice millers refused to sign agreements with state government for placing the paddy crop at their premises under the Custom Milling Rice (CMR) policy.

“Unless the agreement is signed with rice millers by the state government, the purchased paddy from grain markets could not be unloaded at rice millers’ shellers for converting into rice,” pointed out Makhan Singh, the General Secretary of the Haryana Pardesh Rice Millers & Dealers Association.

He added, “As a result of it, the paddy lifting is going slow.”

State rice millers are primarily demanding removal of holding charges that have been sought by the state government for the delay in delivering rice in 2009-10.

“We never delayed the rice delivery. It happened (delay) because of shortage of space with Food Corporation of India (FCI),” Singh alleged, while claiming that the state government was demanding holding charges to the tune of Rs 50 crore from rice millers.

While comparing the state’s policy with neighbouring Punjab, he said, “Punjab government is not levying any charges from its rice millers, despite millers not delivering rice for the last year.”

Rice millers are also demanding that the Centre relax the norms for discolouration and damage to paddy, which have been fixed at 4.5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. They also sought a reduction in the limit for making rice out of paddy from 67 per cent to 64 per cent due to low yield.

Agitated over the slow pace of procurement, paddy growers in Karnal had blocked the national highway on Monday.

“The state government is responsible for slow paddy lifting in the state. We will launch an agitation at full scale in the state if the state government does not speed up paddy lifting,” Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha President Dayanand Punia said.

Paddy has arrived in various places like Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Ambala, Panchkula and Yamun Nagar. “As the crop arrivals are picking up, if the state government does not resolve the issue at the earliest, farmers could be forced to go for distress sale,” said Singh.

When contacted, Haryana Food and Supply Secretary Navraj Sandhu said, “We are talking to rice millers and looking into their demands. We are hopeful of resolving the matter within a day or two.”

Stating that the state government was ensuring buying of the entire arrivals of paddy crops, she said, “Paddy has just been trickling in and the crop (at present) has higher moisture level, which is beyond specification of 17 per cent due to last month’s rains. Farmers have been told about the same (moisture content) and they have understood it.”

Paddy procurement in Haryana gets tardy

2010-10-08T16:30:00.001+05:30

Source : Vikas Sharma / New Delhi/ Chandigarh Oct 07, 2010, 00:31

The Paddy procurement in Haryana has not commenced on a promising note amidst reports of protests made by farmers and rice millers in the state.

While the rice millers in Haryana have refused to lift paddy in Haryana till their demands are met, farmers in Haryana have been protesting for last three days alleging non-lifting of paddy by government as well as private agencies.

As much as 124,959 metric tonnes of paddy arrival across various terminal market in Haryana has been reported till yesterday.

The rice millers in the state have threatened not to lift any paddy arriving in the terminal market (mandis) till their demands are met.

Rice millers on behalf of government agencies normally procure the paddy at terminal markets and after cleaning and milling it supply it to Food Corporation of India (FCI), for which they are paid milling charges.

The rice millers in Haryana have alleged the state government agencies have been penalising the millers in the state. The millers maintained alleged state government agencies have imposed charges on millers for not delivering paddy to FCI within prescribed limit. Millers maintain due to want of space with FCI , paddy could not be supplied to FCI and now they are being penalised.

Rattan Mann, National Vice President, Bharti Kisan Union alleged that while the procurement of paddy at terminal market should have commenced from October 1 the process was delayed. The paddy arriving at the market remained lying there as government agencies and millers continued refused to lift the paddy.

Mann maintained continued protest by farmers in Haryana for three days resulted in government agencies and private agencies finally succumbing to the pressure.

The government agencies maintained that since moisture content was beyond prescribed limits in the early arriving varieties of paddy it was not lifted.

Paddy procurement commences in Punjab

2010-10-08T16:27:00.001+05:30

Source : Business Standard / New Delhi/ Chandigarh Oct 07, 2010, 00:33

Government agencies and private millers procured more than 851,415 tonnes of paddy in Punjab till last evening.

Of the total procurement in the procurement centres of Punjab, Government agencies procured 826,311 tonnes (97.1 per cent) whereas private traders procured 25,104 tonnes (2.9 per cent) of paddy.

Till October 5, Punjab State Grains Procurement Corporation had procured 222,089 tonnes (26.9 per cent) whereas Markfed procured 178,842 tonnes (21.6 per cent).

Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation procured 211,150 tonnes (25.6 per cent), Punjab State Warehousing Corporation procured 123,835 tonnes (15 per cent) whereas Punjab Agro Industries Corporation was able to procure 79,553 tonnes (9.6 per cent) of paddy.

The Central government agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) had been able to procure 10842 tonnes (1.3 per cent). The State Government has set up almost 1,700 procurement centres.

Paddy procurement picks up in Punjab, Haryana

2010-10-06T09:33:00.004+05:30

Source : Punjab Newsline Network, Tuesday, 05 October 2010

The paddy procurement in Punjab and Haryana has picked up with about 611424 tonnes of paddy arrival in Punjab mandis and 68,233 tonnes of paddy procured in Haryana till last evening.

A spokesman of Punjab Govt. said here today that out of total procurement in all the procurement centers of Punjab, Government agencies procured 503395 tonnes (97.1%) whereas private traders procured 18029 tonnes (2.9%) of paddy.

Till October 04, PUNGRAIN had procured 162022 tonnes (27.3%) whereas MARKFED procured 130503 tonnes (22%), PUNSUP procured 159508 tonnes (26.9%), PSWC procured 84964 tonnes (14.3%) whereas PAIC was able to procure 55731 tonnes (9.4 %) of paddy.

The Central Government agency FCI had been able to procure 667 tonnes (0.1%).

The spokesman added that District Tarn Taran with 113632 tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas district Ferozepur with 98029 tonnes of procurement was at second slot and District Kapurthala 78950 tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

The State Government has set up almost 1700 procurement centers and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.

A Haryana government spokesman said that out of the total arrival of paddy, 48,543 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased by the Government agencies at a minimum support price of Rs. 1030 per quintal for Grade-A varieties of paddy and Rs.1000 per quintal for Common varieties of paddy. The rest 19,690 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased by the millers.

He said that the district Karnal was leading in the paddy arrival where 16440 metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, followed by Ambala, where 13853 metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis. District Kurukshetra ranked third in the paddy arrival, where 13216 metric tonnes of paddy had arrived in the mandis, whereas in district Kaithal 12730 metric tonnes of paddy had arrived. Similarly, in Yamunanagar district, 5583 metric tonnes, in Panchkula district 3892 metric tonnes, in Sirsa 966 metric tonnes and in Fatehabad 978 metric tonnes of paddy arrived in the mandis.

Out of the total paddy purchased by the Government agencies, Hafed has purchased 18,365 metric tonnes of paddy, Food and Supplies Department 15194 metric tonnes, Agro Industries Corporation 6961 metric tonnes, Confed 5677 metric tonnes and Haryana Warehousing Corporation has purchased 2346 metric tonnes of paddy, he added.

India plans to hike wheat, pulses support prices

2010-10-06T09:33:00.002+05:30

Source : Commodity Online , October 05, 2010 at 16:10

NEW DELHI : India plans to hike the minimum support price for pulses and wheat in order to boost the production by encouraging farmers.

According to official sources, the Agriculture Ministry has proposed a Rs 20 hike in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat to Rs 1,120 a quintal, while the MSP for pulses could be hiked by up to Rs 420 a quintal.

MSP for mustard seeds would be raised marginally by Rs 20 to Rs 1,850 per quintal. The proposal to increase the MSP of rabi crops is likely to be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) this week, sources said.

The government aims to increase the pulses output by two million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year to 16.5 million tonnes to achieve this, it had raised the MSP of kharif pulses significantly and now it plans to do the same for rabi pulses such as gram and masoor.