Govt foodgrain stocks at 61.27 Mt as of Aug 1: FCI

NEW DELHI: The foodgrain stocks held in government godowns amounted to 61.27 million tonnes (Mt) at the start of the current month, according to the latest data from the Food Corporation of India ( FCI).

FCI, the nodal agency for foodgrains procurement and distribution, had 25.27 Mt of rice and 35.87 Mt of wheat in its storage facilities as of August 1, a senior official said.

As per government norms, the FCI should have 21.2 Mt of wheat and rice available in its buffer stock as of October 1 every year. This includes 5 Mt of strategic reserves.

The Centre has created a strategic reserve of 3 Mt of wheat and 2 Mt of rice over-and-above the normal buffer stock.

The government is sitting on a huge foodgrains stocks on account of bumper output and procurement in the last two years. This has caused storage shortages.

Currently, the government has covered storage facilities to house only 44 Mt of foodgrains. The rest is stored in open areas.

On the back of record output of 81.47 Mt, FCI procured 28.14 Mt of wheat in the 2011-12 marketing year (April-March), compared to 22.5 Mt last year.

The FCI has procured 32.63 Mt of rice so far in the 2010-11 marketing year (October-September).