COMMODITY
Food Ministry sets paddy procurement target of 708.64 lakh tonne for KMS 2026-27
Sep-02-2026

The Food Ministry has set a paddy procurement target of 708.64 lakh tonne for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026-27, starting on October 1, which is lower than the actual procurement levels recorded in the previous season. The target was finalised after a review meeting with state food secretaries, chaired by Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra.

By comparison, the actual kharif paddy procurement had touched 720.74 lakh tonne as on August 5 this year, while full-season procurement stood at 708.85 lakh tonne in 2024-25 and 689.56 lakh tonne in 2023-24. The scaled-down target reflects a contraction in the paddy-sown area, which stood at 414.10 lakh hectare as of August 31, against 428.46 lakh hectare a year earlier.

Khairf paddy production in 2025-26 is estimated to be 123.92 million tonne as per the second advance estimate. While the lower acreage points to a relatively conservative target rather than an aggressive one, the actual procurement outcome will still hinge on yields, state-level procurement operations, market arrivals, and the proportion of paddy sold through government agencies.

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