55.8 lakh tonnes paddy procured in Punjab

Chandigarh, Oct 15 (UNI) Government agencies and private millers procured more than 55.8 lakh tonnes of paddy till yesterday.

According to an official spokesman, out of the total procurement, government agencies had procured 42.59 lakh tonnes of paddy, which was 76.2 per cent of the total purchase. The millers had lifted 13.29 lakh tonnes (23.8 per cent).

Till yesterday, Pungrain had procured 10.05 lakh tonnes (23.6 per cent) whereas Markfed procured 9.69 lakh tonnes (22.8 per cent).

Punsup procured 11.34 lakh tonnes (26.6 per cent), PSWC procured 6.15 tonnes (14.4 per cent) whereas PAIC was able to procure 4.90 lakh tonnes (11.5 per cent) of paddy. The Central government agency FCI had been able to procure 44,900 tonnes (1.1 per cent).

The spokesman added that Ferozepur district with 9.83 lakh tonnes of procurement was leading in paddy procurement in the state whereas Ludhiana district with 5.82 lakh tonnes of procurement was at second slot and Kapurthala district with 3.91 lakh tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

To ensure smooth procurement and timely payments to the farmers, the Punjab government has already got a cash credit limit of Rs 7439 Crores sanctioned from Reserve Bank of India for Kharif Season 2007-08.

The State Government has set up 1544 procurement centres and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.

UNI