Paddy procurement to start on Oct 1

Punjab’s food agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) would begin procurement of paddy in the state from October 1, with a target of 140 lakh metric tonnes, of which the FCI would be directly lifting 10% of the total arrivals, a spokesman said here.

Punjab’s food agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) would begin procurement of paddy in the state from October 1, with a target of 140 lakh metric tonnes, of which the FCI would be directly lifting 10% of the total arrivals, a spokesman said here.

Pungrain is scheduled to procure 25%, Punsup 23% Markfed 22%, Punjab Agro 9% and the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (11%) across the state.

This time, the agencies would be using 40-kg-capacity gunny bags instead of 35 kg that would save about Rs 200 crore, the spokesman added.

The union government has fixed a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,400 per quintal for grade A and Rs 1,360 per quintal for the common variety of paddy.

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