The Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchased over 7 million tonnes of rice in the second half of October, up from about 6 million tonnes last year. In the first half, procurement stood at 4.85 million tonnes. Officials attributed the higher purchase to early harvesting in Punjab and Haryana, where procurement began in mid-September, ahead of the usual October 1 schedule. The rice marketing season starts in October, though procurement timelines vary by state. Punjab, the top contributor to the central pool, procured 6.94 million tonnes by October 31, a 49% jump from 4.66 million tonnes last year. Haryana’s procurement rose 22.7% to 3.81 million tonnes, while Tamil Nadu’s procurement, which began in September, more than doubled to 0.75 million tonnes. Other states together added 0.40 million tonnes, including Uttarakhand (0.29 million tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (61,701 tonnes), and Telangana (27,157 tonnes). For the 2025–26 marketing season, the Centre has set a rice procurement target of 46.35 million tonnes from the kharif crop, lower than 54.52 million tonnes procured in 2024–25. Last year’s total included 11.61 million tonnes from Punjab and 3.62 million tonnes from Haryana. Although procurement in Punjab and Haryana is scheduled until November 30 and November 15, respectively, experts expect it to end earlier due to early crop arrivals. Procurement in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh is set to begin from November 1, with Madhya Pradesh seeking approval for direct procurement through state agencies. The agriculture ministry is yet to release kharif crop production estimates, likely due next week. This season, the paddy acreage touched a record 44.16 million hectares, up from 43.57 million hectares a year ago.