Telangana to tap into global and inter-State export markets to address paddy procurement issues

To reduce over-reliance on central agencies to procure paddy, Telangana — which logged record rice production in recently concluded Yasangi (Rabi) — is planning to give incentives to promote export of rice.

Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Monday (June 29) that the move is aimed at tapping into global and inter-State markets for the benefit of farmers in the State and millers.

The statement was made a few weeks after farmers in the State were distressed over slow pace of paddy procurement in the recently concluded Yasangi season — when 81 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured in the State. The total production in the State in the Yasangi and Kharif (Vanakalam) was over 152 LMT. And the consumption of paddy in the State is 36 LMT per annum, making it a rice-surplus State. The State has  transferred ₹19,303 crore directly into farmers’ bank accounts for the Rabi season’s procurement, he said.

The Minister said that the paddy procured by the Food Corporation of India is not for exports and that Telangana has to explore new markets both outside the State and outside the country. “We are going to come up with a new initiative to go forward with exports,” he said at the launch of KCP Nutri’s Multi-Vitamin Rice range in Hyderabad.

Entrepreneurs were urged to plan sales not only within Telangana but aggressively target markets outside the State. Telangana has already marked the beginning of the rice exports to other countries last year. In March 2025, 12,000 MT of rice was exported to Philippines.