Over 107 lakh tonnes paddy procured in Punjab

Chandigarh, Oct 29 (UNI) Government agencies and private millers procured more than 107 lakh tonnes of paddy in Punjab.

According to an official spokesman, out of the total procurement of 107.88 lakh tonnes of Paddy till last evening in all the procurement centres of the state, government agencies had procured 88.37 lakh tonnes of paddy, which was 81.9 per cent of the total procurement, till date whereas millers had lifted 19.50 lakh tonnes (18.1 per cent) of paddy.

Till yesterday Pungrain procured 22.31 lakh tonnes (25.2 per cent) whereas Markfed procured 20.97 lakh tonnes (23.7 per cent). Punsup procured 22.48 lakh tonnes (25.4 per cent), PSWC procured 11.86 lakh tonnes (13.4 per cent) whereas PAIC procured 9.60 lakh tonnes (10.9 per cent) of paddy. The Central government agency FCI had been able to procure 1.95 lakh tonnes (1.3 per cent).

The spokesman said Ludhiana district with 14 lakh tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas Sangrur district with 12.37 lakh tonnes of procurement was at second slot and Ferozepur district with 11.43 lakh tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

The spokesman said to ensure smooth procurement and timely payments to the farmers, the Punjab government had already got a cash credit limit of Rs 7439 crore 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