KTR seeks addl target of 20 lakh MT of parboiled rice for Telangana

NEW DELHI: Telangana Minister and BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) has appealed to the Centre to allot an additional target of 20 lakh metric tonnes of parboiled rice target for Telangana. He called on the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal at the latter’s residence, during his two-day visit to the national capital here on Saturday.

During the meeting, KTR discussed various issues, including the request for an additional par-boiled rice target for Rabi 2022-23. He highlighted the significance of paddy cultivation in Telangana during the Rabi Season, covering over 57 lakh acres, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the country's paddy cultivation. The State has successfully procured a total of 66.11 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during this Rabi season, he said.

KTR informed the Union Minister that Telangana was delivering custom milled rice (CMR) in the form of parboiled rice to Food Corporation of India (FCI) during the Rabi season. The high temperatures during this period of paddy crop growth were not conducive to milling for delivery of raw rice within the stipulated broken rice limit of less than 25 percent. He said that the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, conducted test milling in 11 districts of the State during the previous Rabi season.

The minister said that the report indicated a broken percentage of 48.20 percent for MTU 1010, the major variety grown during the season. The Centre allocated a total of 10.20 lakh metric tonnes of parboiled rice target for the State (equivalent to 15 lakh metric tonnes of paddy), leaving a balance of around 51.11 lakh metric tonnes of paddy to be milled for delivering raw rice to FCI, he said.

“The financial implication for delivery of one lakh metric tonnes of raw rice to FCI works out to Rs 42.08 crore due to the additional percentage of broken rice and the total financial implication if the State has to deliver the balance around 34.24 lakh metric tonnes in the form of raw rice works out to Rs 1,441 crore,” KTR said. Considering the additional financial implications due to the higher broken percentage, KTR requested the allocation of an additional 20 lakh metric tons of parboiled fortified rice targeted for Rabi 2022-23.