Govt sets paddy procurement target at 708.64 lakh tons in KMS 2026-27, lower than actuals of last 3 yrs

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday set a paddy procurement target of 708.64 lakh tonne (LMT) for the 2026-27 Kharif Marketing Season, starting on October 1, which is lower than the actual procurement levels recorded in each of the previous three seasons.

The target was finalised after a review meeting with state food secretaries, chaired by Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra.

"Following deliberations with states/UTs, the paddy procurement estimates for the ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026-27 were fixed at 708.64 LMT in terms of paddy," the Food Ministry said in a statement.


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, according to official data.

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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, according to Agriculture Ministry data.

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.

Read more: Asia Rice: India rates hit near one-year high on tight supply

IMPROVE RICE SPECIFICATION APPROVED FROM KMS 2026-27

Separately, the meeting also cleared the rollout of "Improved Rice" under PMGKAY and other welfare schemes, with tighter broken-grain norms.

Raw rice procured will now permit up to 10 per cent broken grains, down from the existing 25 per cent specification, while parboiled rice will be capped at 5 per cent broken grains, against 16 per cent earlier.

The new norms take effect from KMS 2026-27 and will be expanded across procuring states in phases, with states asked to assess milling capacity and prepare upgradation roadmaps, the statement said.

For coarse grains, 18.85 lakh tonne has been estimated for procurement by states during KMS 2026-27 (Kharif), building on 16.38 lakh tonne procured in 2025-26, the highest in five years.

STORAGE, TECHNOLOGY PUSH CONTINUES

Chopra also reviewed the new Storage Policy, which envisages 131 lakh tonne of additional storage capacity, 111 lakh tonne by states and 20 lakh tonne by FCI, to address the mismatch between procurement and offtake. States were asked to onboard warehouses on the Depot Darpan portal and submit time-bound action plans.

On the technology front, the Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) for GPS-based tracking of foodgrain movement under the PDS supply chain is to be completed by December 2026, with select states targeted for September 2026.

The procurement optimisation tool has been rolled out in Punjab and Haryana, with other states required to update procurement centre, mill and warehouse data by September 15, 2026.

Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh were recognised for best practices in Improved Rice implementation, Joint Physical Verification and PCSAP performance, Shree Anna procurement, and AgriStack adoption in paddy procurement, respectively.