Centre Approves 10 LMT Fortified Parboiled Rice Procurement from Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Food and Public Distribution Department has approved the inclusion of 10 LMT (Lakh Metric Tonnes) of fortified parboiled rice in the procurement plan of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from Odisha, as per information provided by Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

This decision follows a request from Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Goyal, urging the procurement of parboiled rice by FCI from Odisha during the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24. Goyal, in response to Pradhan’s letter, conveyed the Department’s approval for the additional procurement of fortified parboiled rice from Odisha.

On January 16, Pradhan had written to Goyal, highlighting Odisha as the fourth-largest paddy-producing state. With a projected bumper harvest, it is anticipated that 79 LMT of rice will be collected during the KMS 2023-24 in Odisha. The initial allocation target set by the Government of India for rice procurement was 44.28 LMT.

Pradhan emphasized the surplus parboiled rice after meeting the state’s rice requirements for NFSA, SFSA, and other welfare schemes, necessitating its evacuation by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).