Paddy procurement in Punjab crosses 50 lakh tonnes

Chandigarh, Oct 17 (UNI) The six government agencies stepped up procurement of paddy in Punjab procuring 90.9 per cent of the estimated 50 lakh tonnes purchased so far.

The private millers had so far purchased 9.9 per cent of the paddy brought to th grain markets of the state.

Of the total purchase by government agencies, FCI had procured 58,347 tonnes while the rest went into the kitty of the five state agencies. The millers procured 4, 99,953 tonnes till yesterday evening.

Ferozepur district continued to lead in procurement with 9,29,492 tonnes.

The farmers had been paid over Rs 2982.81 crore for paddy procured by the agencies so far. The Punjab Food and Supplies department has setup 1622 procurement centres throughout the state to ensure smooth procurement of paddy.

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