Assam paddy procurement opens: 8.49 lakh MT target at Rs 2,441 MSP
By Rohit SharmaMarkets Analyst, Peepals Business
Representative image: catamejia18 / Pixabay
Assam began buying paddy on 1 November 2026 at Rs 2,441 a quintal, aiming for 8.49 lakh MT across 181 centres until 31 May 2027.
What Happened
Assam has opened its paddy procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2026-27 with a target of 8.49 lakh metric tonnes (MT), to be bought from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,441 a quintal for common paddy. Buying began on Sunday, 1 November 2026 and is to run until Monday, 31 May 2027 at 181 paddy procurement centres across the state's 35 districts, according to the state government. Farmers must register before they can sell to the state's procurement agencies.
Key Facts
- Target for KMS 2026-27: 8.49 lakh MT of paddy.
- MSP: Rs 2,441 a quintal for common paddy and Rs 2,461 for Grade A paddy, Rs 72 more than last season.
- Window: 1 November 2026 to 31 May 2027.
- Centres: 181 in all; 169 run by the Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (8,30,800 MT target) and 12 by the Food Corporation of India (18,200 MT).
- Quality rule: paddy should be clean, dry and have no more than 17% moisture, the Chief Minister's Office said.
- Last season's first crop: about 6.89 lakh MT procured, 86% of the target, benefiting over 51,780 farmers, according to state figures reported at the time.
Why It Matters
For a paddy farmer in Assam, the MSP is the floor price the government promises to pay. When a state buys directly through its own centres, farmers who reach those centres do not have to sell to private traders at whatever price the local market offers after harvest. How far the centres reach decides how many farmers actually get that price.
The two agencies divide the work unevenly. The state corporation runs almost all the centres and carries almost all of the target; the Food Corporation of India, the central agency that buys and stores grain for the public distribution system, handles a small share through 12 centres. Paddy bought this way is milled into rice that feeds the ration system, so procurement also supports the state's food security programmes.
The quality rule matters on the ground. Paddy with more than 17% moisture can be turned away or bought at a cut, so farmers who harvest in wet weather need to dry their grain before taking it to a centre. Registration is the other hurdle: last season, 72,098 farmers registered for the first crop, while just over 51,780 actually sold paddy, according to state figures from that season.
Peepals calculation: at Rs 2,441 a quintal, buying the full 8.49 lakh MT (84.9 lakh quintals) would mean paying farmers about Rs 2,072 crore (84.9 lakh × Rs 2,441). The Rs 72 rise in MSP alone adds about Rs 61 crore on that volume (84.9 lakh × Rs 72). The target is about 23% higher than the 6.89 lakh MT actually bought from last season's first crop (8.49 ÷ 6.89 ≈ 1.23), and each centre would on average need to buy about 4,690 MT (8,49,000 ÷ 181). Our calculation from the reported figures.
| Centre-wise split | Centres | Target (MT) |
|---|---|---|
| Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation | 169 | 8,30,800 |
| Food Corporation of India | 12 | 18,200 |
| Total | 181 | 8,49,000 |
Impact
Short-term: farmers in all 35 districts can now sell paddy at Rs 2,441 a quintal once registered, provided their grain meets the moisture and cleanliness rules.
Long-term: a bigger target, if met, would put more of the state's harvest under the MSP and reduce distress sales to traders; if it is missed, as last season's first crop fell short of its target, the gap shows where centres or registration are not reaching farmers.
Who is affected: paddy farmers in Assam, rice millers who process the procured grain, the state corporation and the Food Corporation of India, and families who receive rice through the public distribution system.
What to watch next: how much paddy is procured in the first weeks and how many farmers register, as the state reports progress against the 8.49 lakh MT target before the window closes on 31 May 2027.
Key Takeaway
Assam began buying paddy on 1 November 2026 at Rs 2,441 a quintal with a target of 8.49 lakh MT across 181 centres, running until 31 May 2027.
Questions and Answers
What is the paddy MSP in Assam for 2026-27?
Rs 2,441 a quintal for common paddy and Rs 2,461 for Grade A paddy, which is Rs 72 more than in KMS 2025-26.
When does Assam paddy procurement start and end?
It started on Sunday, 1 November 2026 and is scheduled to run until Monday, 31 May 2027.
Who buys the paddy?
The Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited runs 169 centres with a target of 8,30,800 MT, and the Food Corporation of India runs 12 centres with a target of 18,200 MT.
What quality must the paddy meet?
The Chief Minister's Office said paddy should be clean, dry and contain no more than 17% moisture. Farmers also need to register with the procurement agencies before selling.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Rohit Sharma, Markets AnalystCovers Markets Watch and more for Peepals Business. All stories by Rohit Sharma
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Rohit Sharma is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
