Punjab and Haryana together have so far procured over 215.65 lakh tonne of paddy this kharif season. Punjab alone has procured over 150.37 lakh tonne of paddy. Out of this 149.44 lakh tonne has been procured by government agencies while 92,854 tonne has been procured by private millers. In neighbouring Haryana, over 65.28 lakh tonne of paddy has procured this Kharif season. Out of this, government agencies have procured over 57.31 lakh tonne, private millers have procured over 7.97 lakh tonne. Haryana is well known for Basmati rice production, especially in Karnal district. The Punjab government has made arrangements for a bumper procurement of 200 lakh tonne of paddy this season. In 2017-18, a total of 179.34 lakh tonne of paddy was procured. Paddy procurement started in the agrarian state on October 1, but the bulk of the stocks started coming after October 10.