Government Procurement of Kharif Rice Reaches 463 Lakh Tonnes

03-Apr-2026 01:55 PM

New Delhi. Government agencies have procured 463.06 lakh tonnes of rice (in paddy equivalent) for the central pool during October 2025 to March 2026 in the 2025–26 Kharif Marketing Season. This is about 6 percent higher than the total procurement of 454.36 lakh tonnes recorded in the 2024–25 season. Procurement had declined by 17 percent in February, but it increased nearly tenfold in March.

It is worth noting that the initial procurement target for the 2025–26 season was fixed at 477 lakh tonnes, which was later revised upward to 487 lakh tonnes. In the entire 2024–25 marketing season (Kharif + Rabi), a total of 545.22 lakh tonnes of rice was procured for the central pool. Procurement of Rabi season paddy and rice for 2025–26 is yet to take place.

The deadline for government procurement of paddy and rice has been extended to April 7 in Odisha, April 30 in West Bengal, May 31 in Tripura, and June 30 in Assam. In all other states of the country, procurement of Kharif paddy has already been completed. It ended on March 31 in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra.

The central government has fixed a procurement target of 79.57 lakh tonnes of rice for the 2025–26 Rabi season. The procurement process will continue from April to September. During the Rabi season, Telangana has the highest procurement target at 35 lakh tonnes, followed by Tamil Nadu with 14 lakh tonnes, Odisha with 11 lakh tonnes, and Andhra Pradesh with 10 lakh tonnes.