New Delhi, Aug 27 - India will buy a record 28 million tonnes of rice from local farmers in the year to September, a top government official said, beating its target and raising hopes of an early resumption of non-basmati exports.
Alok Sinha, chief of the Food Corp of India, told Reuters the state-run firm had already bought more than the targeted 27 million tonnes, easing concerns of some trade and government officials that procurement would fall short of the mark.
"After procuring record quantities of wheat, we are going to repeat the feat in rice by procuring 28 million tonnes, surpassing 27.5 million tonnes procured two years ago," Sinha said.