HYDERABAD: Based on expected paddy yield of 1.48 crore metric tonnes this ‘vaanakalam’ (kharif) in the state, about 20 lakh metric tonnes will be shipped to other states. Telangana requires 83.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy for local consumption in a year.
Agriculture minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy at a review meeting on Tuesday said that paddy was cultivated in 55 lakh acres this season, with a total expected produce of 1.48 crore tonnes.
“Food Corporation of India has already agreed to procure 60 lakh metric tonnes, but we are requesting that they procure an additional 15 lakh tonnes, with 20 lakh metric tonnes to be sold to other states,” he said. Rice exports from the state have good demand in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.
Telangana, he said, consumes 56 lakh metric tonnes of rice a year. Even though Punjab is one of the largest producers of paddy, the state has no local consumption. The minister advised the civil supplies department to try to construct open paddy storage facilities similar to those seen in north India.
