Govt Concerned Over FCI Halting Rice Lifting in Odisha

25-Aug-2025 06:09 PM

Bhubaneswar. There is a surplus stock of more than 23 lakh tonnes of custom milled rice in Orissa, while the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not lifting its quota from the millers.

This has increased the concern and dilemma of the government. Actually, the Food Corporation is facing a huge problem in safe storage of rice.

There is a shortage of space in the godowns and the demand for Sela rice of Orissa has weakened in states like Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

As a result, the Food Corporation stopped lifting custom milled rice (CMR) from July 30. The corporation had fixed the last date for lifting of rice as July 30.

The Odisha government has sent a letter to the Central Food Ministry requesting to direct the Food Corporation to extend the time limit for lifting of rice as soon as possible.

It has been said in the letter that the government warehouses and the godowns of rice millers in the state are full and the withdrawal of rice is necessary. The Food Corporation is waiting for the Food Ministry's guidelines to extend the deadline for lifting rice.

Under the agreement between the Food Corporation of India and the Government of Odisha for the Kharif Marketing Season 2024-25, 50 lakh tonnes of CMR (custom milled rice) is to be lifted from the state's millers for the central pool.

In Odisha, 93 lakh tonnes of paddy was purchased from farmers by government agencies in Kharif and Rabi seasons combined, which is equivalent to 62.54 lakh tonnes of rice. Odisha has a dire need of 24 lakh tonnes of rice for distribution under various food security and supplementary nutrition schemes.

The Food Corporation was to lift 26 lakh tonnes of rice, but till July 31, it lifted only 15.18 lakh tonnes. Thus, it has to lift 11.36 lakh tonnes of rice more. 16.45 lakh tonnes of rice has been supplied to the state government by the millers.