Millers, exporters expect marginal fall in rice output

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New Delhi: Millers and exporters do not expect a huge fall in rice output this Kharif season and say the government's estimate of a shortfall of 15 million tonne is on the higher side.

“Definitely, there is a shortfall in rice production due to drought and floods. We expect the fall to be at 10-12 million tonne,” Tarsem Saini, president, Federation of All India Rice Millers Association, said. According to the first estimate released by the ministry of agriculture, rice production would be 69.45 million tonne in the 2009-10 kharif season. It was 84.58 million tonne in the last kharif.

Vijay Sethia, former president of All India Rice Exporters Association, said private trade would have been active by now to purchase the grain in case of such a fall in output.Private trade is absent, he said, adding the procurement by the Centre has been higher than last year, though major buying is confined to Punjab and Haryana.

According to official data, the government's rice purchases stood at 91.78 lakh tonne as on November 3 as against 87.26 lakh tonne in the year-ago period.

As much as 75.04 lakh tonne of rice was procured from Punjab, followed by 15.64 lakh tonne from Haryana, and 7,000 tonne from Chattisgarh.

Andhra Pradesh rice millers association secretary Nagendra Ganappa said, “The government's rice estimate is on the higher side and does not reflect the ground reality.”We are not buying from Punjab and Haryana even though production in the state is 28% less from last year, as we anticipate the Centre to offload its huge stock in times of contingencies,” he said.